Our relationship with cheese is long and complicated. We have been making versions of it since before we had language to describe it. It has kept our species alive during some of the most critical phases of our existence. There's even a theory that the fermentation process that creates cheese is a primary reason that we have religion. After all, when bacteria and mold were not understood, what better proof of a God focused on your well-being than the miraculous formation of a nutritious food that keeps you alive in hard times?
There is a love of cheese as a whole that gives most people a warm, fuzzy feeling. Grilled Cheese and Mac n’ Cheese are two of the most prominent comfort foods around! Yet, for all of that, the relationship is fraught. There is underlying fear and confusion about cheese that many people have a hard time confronting. “Is cheese healthy?” seems to be in continuous debate. What is the difference between a dairy allergy and lactose intolerance and how does that impact a relationship to cheese? What exactly IS vegan cheese? Finally, and most complicated of all is knowledge of all the kinds of cheeses out there in the world. There is a deep and hard-to-overcome fear of the unknown; a hesitation to try foods unfamiliar.
I’ve witnessed all of the fear-points firsthand as a Cheese Monger and Sommelier. The excitement from afar when a person sees a cheese case and makes a beeline for it, only to become overwhelmed when up close, not knowing anything except for Brie in the case. Or, at a festival, a guest walks up to a table and asks the monger "What’s the best one on the table?" How is that poor monger to know what you like? This is the most hilarious situation to see. Literally, the whole purpose of a festival is for people to try cheeses they have never had before AND there are trash cans right there in case someone takes a bite and hates it! It’s a zero risk environment. By the way, the same thing applies for wine festivals...could have interchanged the words cheese and wine.
Is it that fine food has the connotation of being expensive and only for the rich? Has that reduced fine cheese to being pigeon-held to only those who have had upbringings that exposed them to the expanse of the product, or perhaps to those customers particularly adventurous? How do we move good cheese…not dairy-based processed cheese slices (you know who I’m talking about) …into the position that say a taco holds now? After all, tacos were once exotic and rather scary to people. Now, they are totally beloved! Who do you know hates tacos? I don’t know a single person. They may not love every taco they come across, but I bet you they love a kind of taco. (It's kind of like Chardonnay in that way...I'll explain that another time).
I ask the question, because I have a deep & abiding feeling that like the X Files, the truth is out there. Right now, it’s perhaps a bit beyond our grasp, but I’m still searching for the special sauce to connect people with this food that is at once beautiful, safer than it has ever been in our entire existence, and has options for everyone…including vegan options for people with dairy allergies. Not that I totally condone it since I am a purist at heart.
I will continue to devote myself to making access and understanding of good cheese accessible to everyone. Making it fun for everyone. To figuring out the secret to making a fortune in cheese, not just financially, but in a deep soul-fulfilling way. Finding faith in cheese and helping humanity of today to reconnect to our history by eating it.
