Fine Cheese & Charcuterie September 2014

For years, French has been the de facto language of the world’s kitchens, just as Italian defines the world of music. To those who cook, terms like sauté, braise, chiffonade, julienne, roux and bouquet garni are spoken quite naturally, not to mention the hundreds of names for sauces, dishes and tools of the trade. Of course, French permeates our language (and vice versa, much to the horror of the French Minister of Culture), including the name of this magazine. In more recent times, Italian has taken its rightful place in the kitchen and in the deli, especially due to the appearance of talented salumieres like Paul Bertoli of Fra’Mani, Cristiano Creminelli, and others who have elevated the fine art of traditional Italian sausage-making in America. None of this comes without its share of confusion for the linguistically challenged and so I thought it would be good to try and sort out some of the modern nomenclature of the deli in our feature story this month, “What’s in a Name?” (page 11). I have a pretty good foreign vocabulary, especially as it relates to food, but as the great Calvin Trillin once wrote regarding foreign languages, I just don’t do verbs.  Speaking of the deli, we’re very pleased to have Laurie Cummins, owner of Alexian Pâtés, as the subject of our “Shop Talk” column this month, page 9. Cummins is well-known in the industry, and in the interview, she shares the history of her business and what it’s been like to be a woman in the male-dominated meat industry. Our thanks go to her for agreeing to share her expertise.

For those who have never been to an American Cheese Society conference, or were unable to make it to Sacramento this year, I offer my reflections on attending the 2014 Conference and Competition in “The Cheese Stands Alone” (page 15). I had a most illuminating time, talked to a lot of cheesemakers and ate an embarrassing amount of cheese, for which I remain unapologetic.

As I write this during Labor Day weekend, I am in the process of finalizing plans (that means deciding where to eat) for my trip to Paris in October to attend SIAL, one of the largest, most comprehensive, and most exciting food trade shows in the world. To be at a show that exhibits the greatest foods from around the planet, while staying in one of the world’s most exciting food destinations, and certainly one of its most beautiful cities, is a treat indeed. The traffic and crowded train to the exposition center notwithstanding, it is a trip I look forward to every two years. This year, my wife and I are taking an apartment in the Marais for 10 days, perhaps my favorite neighborhood in the city, and I’ll be reporting back in a later issue on the show and my experiences eating my way through the city of light. I hope to see some of you at the show. A bientôt!

By the time you read this, Labor Day and summer of 2014 will be behind us. I wish everyone the best of luck in preparing for the upcoming holiday season and the all-important fourth quarter. As usual, we’ll try to help by bringing you the latest information on trends, retailing, merchandising and new products in the virtual pages of our magazines. Cheers!

James Mellgren
Managing Editor,
Fine Cheese & Charcuterie 

jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com