Cheese & Beer

This week's fabulously delicious segment on TGRTalk.com focuses on cheese and beer pairings. Join Gourmet Retailer Senior Editor James Mellgren and his guest, Anheuser Busch Brewmaster George Reisch, as they sit down to talk about beer and cheese pairings. This is the second segment in a series of live discussions on TGR Talk Radio so tune in and be sure and send us your comments and suggestions.

We've really had a great time pulling these conversations together - it's simply another element in our mission of reporting great stories and research to you in a new and innovative format. Next week you can tune in to hear 2010 predictions for gourmet retailers from industry expert and TGR columnist Phil Lempert! So visit tune in and turn on to TGRtalk.com

http://www.tgrtalk.com/2009/12/beer-and-the-cheeseboard/

A Cow's Life

I read with great interest the recent announcement that Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, was insuring its cheese expert's nose for $8.3 million. The Somerset-based cheese expert, Nigel Pooley, has worked in the cheese-producing industry since 1963 and has graded cheese for the century-old, family-run Wyke Farms for the past 12 years, where he specializes in selecting good commercial cheese that the rest of us will enjoy.

Richard Clothier, third generation family member & Managing Director at Wyke Farms, is insistent that the quality of their Cheddar is of a consistently high standard and comments: “As an industry veteran with a naturally honed palate, Nigel plays an integral role in ensuring the quality of every batch of Wyke Farms’ award-winning cheddar that leaves the farm. It may seem a bit unusual to go to such great lengths – something that’s typically reserved for celebrities, but then again, we’ve never been afraid to stray from the norm in order produce the best farmhouse cheddar possible. In fact, you could say that Nigel is a bit of a celebrity around our farm.”

I have my own adoration for Wyke myself. You see, it's where my alter-ego resides. The calm lady of England who can relax in the fields and enjoy time with friends and family. Yes, my namesake Michelle the Cow resides on Wyke Farms, the folks there were generous enough to name a young Heifer after me. Actually I stand corrected, her name is actually Michelle of Somerset and I just received word this past week that she's grown up quite nicely and is even expecting a baby.

So, I have to say that I must work harder to support and buy Wyke Farm cheddars - and it's a great thing they are of such good quality - because I need to be sure the new young Heifer to my growing herd is well-cared for and enjoying life. In this wildly crazy world of publishing and retailing where the human Michelle resides, it's nice to know that someone is getting the chance to stop and smell [or eat] the roses. Perhaps someday I will get the chance to meet my four-legged extended family in person some day and chat about the farming and dairy industries. It's always nice to compare notes.

                                                                             

Blackboarding Specials

I'm fortunate to live near 5 great specialty food stores, two within walking distance of my house... so I often stroll over to see what's doing.  One shop I walk to uses one of those A-frame blackboard signs to promote the specials at the deli counter inside the store. It had the same specials on it for weeks so I suggested to the owner a little update was in order.

"I bet you get the same customers in day in and day out who buy the same sandwich," I opined.  "Yes, you are right about that!" she said.  "Why not promote something else besides the deli– say your latest arrival of locally grown asparagus, a new shipment of figs or chocolate, maybe a cheese sampling."  Brie for free?

The idea is that passersby (and regular customers) do read the sign and will ignore something that isn't interesting or obviously outdated.  At the same time the sign educates the strolling public about the variety of merchandise you offer.  Changing it daily provides a reason to look and can invite someone in who otherwise might have ignored your shop.

Well my friendly shop owner did indeed change her sign and she said people do ask for the things she puts on the board.  In fact the staff also got into the groove and they suggest some really bizarre items just to see if people will inquire… and the upside is that regular customers now are into reading the sign before they enter.  With more than 5,000 items, my magical merchant will need ten years to tell everyone about them--- and that’s OK with her!

If you try this, keep the offers simple, change it daily, list up to three items from different categories/departments and seek suggestions from your staff.  And don't be tempted to repeat or skip a day.  Your public will soon be in on the concept and they'll notice.

Ron Jakubisin

jakubisin.com

 

Devour this book!

"Eat Like There's No Tomorrow," my personal mantra, is the title of a new cookbook by Georgia boy Hans Rueffert. What a joy and surprise this read held for me. As a chef, food-a-holic and cookbook gourmand, I could not put it down. Of the stacks, boxes, racks, shelves and crates of cookbooks I currently own, I can't remember any that I have read cover to cover in one sitting; I generally look at some photos and then to the dusty shelf it goes.

Yet, "Eat … " kept me focused on its prose, like when I frantically devour a bucket of spicy boiled peanuts; one page of this book flowed to the next. Each incredible photo and numerous recipes never broke my stride; stories of Georgia, Hans' bout with cancer, family photos of Germany and Norway, stories of hunting wild products and picking fruits, all bound by a feeling. The words resonated with me -- the emotion and passion he holds with food a familiar cloak.

Given to me by my friend Sarah from Out of the Blue, a cooking/gourmet store in Blue Ridge, Ga., the book lived up to her promise. Strictly speaking, the book focuses on Georgia products; there are simple recipes, numerous photos and short, engaging blurbs of everything from going organic to gathering fresh local ingredients, along with some technique and creativity, but that is where the similarity ends with most cookbooks.

The photography, by Hans and his wife Amy, is truly incredible. Pictures of food, plated recipes, family and landscapes are broken by numerous pictures of a chicken or turtle or spider or some other living thing intrinsic to food and the earth. The recipes, "suggestions" as Hans sees them, no matter how pretty or detailed, never seem complicated. "Eat … " speaks to the novice and professional alike, with insights of taste, vision, style and life. It is a book you won't find publicized in your monthly publishing house mailers, but it's one that you should definitely track down for your stores.

After reading this and then looking at the pictures, I was inspired. Never encyclopedic or condescending, "Eat … " made my mouth water though I felt satiated. After all my years in kitchens around the world, gathering truffles, digging cattails and searching for the perfect fresh goat cheese or salumi, I should have been envious, but in the end, all I could do was smile. Thanks, Sarah, for turning me on to this book and to Hans for the inspiration.

"Eat Like There's No Tomorrow" by Hans Rueffert, published by Luna 7, 1st edition 2009. Call Sarah at 877-211-6716 for more information.