A wise man once said, "When you have nothing to say, it's best to say nothing." So, just sayin', I ain't been sayin', know what I'm saying? Here I am, an hour to kill waiting on some software to download to complete a client project. So, off the clock, and to the blog to finally say something.  Yikes, December 22 already. Scratch that, finally! This year has been like wading through treacle. Or like watching our two Jack Russell Terriers try to get through the dog door at the same time. A lot of activity, no apparent progress. I haven't felt like I had much to say recently. Not much news on the business and professional fronts. For much...

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Remember, remember, the Fifth of November. Gunpowder, treason, and plot... Running a small business means you wear many hats: IT Manager, HR Manager, Payroll, General Manager, Marketing and Advertising, Buying, Cheesemonger, Educator, traveling salesman, occasional Farmer, you name it! All of this hat wearing can sometimes result in, well, head wearing! So this week I’m going to take a fun diversion and share some of my British culture. I’m going to tip my worn head to a UK festival occurring today, November 5th.  When we were kids, we used to call the November 5th festival, “Bonfire Night,” but it is also known as, “Guy Fawkes...

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Holy Mongers Among Us (Batman)! It's Friday. I have to sell cheese in a muddy field. I cut my finger. I'm cranky! I needed a diversion. This story caught my eye. Lots of people have picked up on it, but, I found the real story lies beneath the story. Where's Paul Harvey when you need him? The Center for Retail Research in a recent report with the mildly threatening, yet irresistible name of, "The First Worldwide Shrinkage Survey," found that cheese is the most frequently 'lifted' item out of shops at the global level. Well, they phrased it as, "Shrinkage Losses of Most Vulnerable Lines." Oh, where do I start with that? This got me thinking,...

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When the Garroxta Gotcha, or Tales Out of Leftie Field! I read in one of my many cheese books (all apologies to the author, I can't remember which), that sooner or later it happens to everyone at the cheese counter. That mother of all cuts. Not a casual knick and a curseword. No, a Monty Python gusher of a flesh wound, with all the accompanying woozy spells... Well, as the saying goes, s**t happens! S**t happened to me last night. I got, 'the cut.' That this had to happen in the restaurant kitchen of my friend, a chef and restaurateur, treating us to an informal private pre-opening dinner, was, well, humiliating! Yes, we watched as my pride...

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Poppadom Preach... So, I was ruminating (no it will not ruin your eyesight!) the other evening. Why is there only 1 Indian restaurant in Delaware? I love Indian food. The attention to detail. The use of the freshest spices, the colors, the aromas, the textures, and yes, the nutrition. I come from a land where there is an Indian restaurant and associated pub every block (kind of like donut shops and funeral homes in New Jersey), and the national dish is "Chicken Tikka Masala." Trust the Brits to create a 'fake' Indian dish based on a cuisine from a former colony! That's a lot of chutzpah! A lorra, lorra chutzpah (my British readers will get...

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This post appeared in the, "Ask The Cheesemonger" section of this week's E-ssue of our newsletter, "The Grapevine." It is a dynamic article in that I've been updating as the passion takes me! Q: Why are cheese names so confusing? A: Uhm, you lost me! Q: There're European ones that sound like towns - Gruyere, Cheddar. Then there're the funky random ones that sound like beers - Billy Blue, Constant Bliss, Bloomsday... A: Ah, etymology! "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Yes, that is the William Shakespeare Rose, left. When many people first delve into growing their knowledge of fine cheeses,...

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If you subscribe to our E-ssue of The Grapevine newsletter then you may have already seen this. Please enjoy again if so! If you'd like to subscribe to The Grapevine, then click here. We have an "Ask The Cheesemonger" section in our E-news. It's a very popular guest section, appearing when I have questions trending amongst customers. Wine has long enjoyed its day in the sun as a pairing with fine cheese. However, I'm noticing that beer is emerging strongly and the number of beer pairing questions are getting some long overdue attention. Due to this nascent interest in beer and cheese pairings, I decided to quit my wine-ing for a little,...

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I'm detecting a pattern with some of my wholesale business-to-business accounts. It's concerning me because I think the customer is selling themselves short, which may be affecting their sales. There's also potential for misunderstanding. What I thought you said is not what you thought you meant! So, it's made me wonder am I missing something in my sales pitch? I'm getting the account, 'closing' if you want to get all Glengarry Glen Ross on me. I'm getting the set of steak (cheese) knives. I get the opening order placed, I come in train the staff, consult on merchandising (if it's a retail account), and menu planning (if it's a food service...

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I just got back from 4 days in beautiful Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I was the sole attendee from Delaware attending the American Cheese Society 2011 Awards and Conference. While it's good to be first, ultimately it's not good to be the only! Another slightly embarrassing fact - there are only two (count us!) members of the American Cheese Society from Delaware. Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware Department of Agriculture, and, Delaware Department of Tourism, pay attention! Readers - did you know membership (and conference attendance) is open not just to cheese/specialty food professionals,...

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Eighteen years resident in the USA has brought a lot of experiences: some downright confusing; some funny; some touching; some frustrating; some joyful; some just filed under, "Huh?" I think about a photograph of myself and my parents at London's Heathrow airport, Labor Day weekend, 1993. Ironically none of us had any idea it was Labor Day weekend, since we'd never heard of it (pre-google folks!). I have a 30" waist and, well, fairly decent hair, in a Hugh Grant floppy kind of way. Common to all three of us is a washed out, shell-shocked kind of look. We're trying to be brave, not processing the inevitable reality - emigration! I was...

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