Here is an anecdote-our friend recently visited her friends and family in Italy. While ready to devour the delicious piece of parmesan across the table from her she asked “May I have the cheese, please?” Little did she know the debate this would incite around the table. “Cheese!” They proclaimed, “That is not cheese! That is parmigiano!”

The moral of this story is that as Americans, we tend to think of cheese as little more than something we grate over our pasta and melt on our pizza. The Italians on the other hand are passionate about their cheese choice-they do not pick any old cheese for their meals, they deliberately select, in this case, a beautiful hunk of artisan parmesan.

As self-proclaimed cheese creatives, we are always searching for great, cheesey artisans to feature in our restaurants and recipes [a personal favorite is the Beemster Aged Gouda from Holland]. While Mr. Cook in this aptly titled article, “The Reigning Whiz of Artisanal Cheese” is a bit out of the way in Wisconsin, we enjoyed reading about his passion for the cheese and very unique creative process-who could have guessed a swiss cheese and Hershey Bar sandwich could lead to so much deliciousness. It’s such great insight to how a cheese craftsmen gets his ideas. Hopefully you will never again think of cheese, as just cheese.

We hope you can appreciate our passion for good cheese, and and next time you stop in, try something a little different-like our Purple Haze, a goat milk cheese that is mixed with lavender and wild fennel pollen and let us know what your favorite is!