Cutting the Curd

What happens when a punk kid figures out how to handle cheese? The Bedford Cheese Shop is born! Get some insight into running a cheese shop as Greg Blais and guest co-host Matt Rubiner chat with Charlotte Kamin, owner of Bedford Cheese Shop- an old-fashioned cheese shop dedicated to providing the finest quality cheeses from around the world. Tune in to find out what the day to day life of a cheese shop owner is like, what plans Charlotte has for expansion and what inspires her “brand”. From quality control to business management – get a peek into the world of retail cheese in Brooklyn! This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“I get off on the fact that food can bring you back to childhood memories.” [06:00]

“I am not the type of person who can just sustain in the same environment. As a shop-owner when you have really good people you want to see them grow.” [11:00]

“A lot of people have this misconception that opening a cheese shop is an easy and profitable thing, but it’s difficult!” [32:00]

–Charlotte Kamin on Cutting the Curd

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Andy Hatch is responsible for one of the most ubiquitous cheeses on counters and menus across the country – Pleasant Ridge Reserve. He’s the guy behind Uplands Cheese Company, a seasonal grass-based dairy farm. Uplands is unique in a number of ways: it follows the “Alpine pattern” of milking, and its a place where cows harvest their own feed, spread their own manure, and give the farmer a bit of a break in the hard labor department. Tune into a conversational and candid episode of Cutting the Curd as host Greg Blais chats with Andy about everything from business growth to American cheese culture. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“We’re a Pleasant Ridge Reserve farm. Everything we do is geared around that grazing season and producing the most beautiful milk we can for that cheese.” [21:00]

–Andy Hatch on Cutting the Curd

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Jason Hinds of Neal’s Yard Dairy has damn-near seen it all when it comes to cheese. This week he joins Greg Blais and Emily Acosta on Cutting the Curd to discuss his work at Neal’s Yard Dairy, his cheese travels and his experiences in the Jura region of France. Tune in and hear Jason recount trips to the cheese fortresses of Jura, the seasonality and terroir of the area and what makes the cheeses of the region so incredible. Neal’s Yard Dairy is a London artisanal cheese retailer and cheesemaker, described as “London’s foremost cheese store.” As the sales director for Neal’s Yard Dairy, Jason knows where to find cheese, what makes it special and how to sell it. Get some real insight from one of the biggest people in cheese on today’s Cutting the Curd! Today’s program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants.

“We don’t celebrate just the cheese itself – we’re working in partnerships with individuals. We present them as much as we present the cheese.” [30:00]

–Jason Hinds on Cutting the Curd

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In the last of the Old School vs New School series, Greg Blais is joined by two talented cheesemongers – Emily Acosta of Eataly and Matt Rubiner of Rubiner’s Cheesemongers and Grocers. Hear them both explain how they found cheese as a career, what the world of cheese means to them and what makes a “real” cheesemonger. Find out how the cheese industry has changed over the years and what tools make learning the trade easier in 2014. This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants.

-Matt Rubiner on Cutting the Curd

“I was fascinated by this process of liquid milk turning into something you could keep for a long period of time.” [10:00]

–Emily Acosta on Cutting the Curd

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This week on Cutting the Curd, Diane Stemple talks with Gianaclis Caldwell about her new book, The Small-Scale Dairy. Tune into this program to hear how writing this book reminded Gianaclis of the importance of food advocacy. Why is Gianaclis so inspired by the DIY spirit? Learn how some of the FDA’s proposed aging regulations could hurt some cheesemakers, and why artisan producers should define their own good manufacturing practices. Hear more about the farmstead cheesemaker short course that Gianaclis hosts, and how she analyzes milk for taste and food safety purposes! This program has been sponsored by White Oak Pastures. Music by The Hollows.

“It’s empowering to think, ‘If someone else can do something, than I can probably learn to do that thing, too.'” [3:45]

“It’s important to be informed… We shouldn’t look at food like it’s going to be around all of the time; food is not static.” [12:40]

“Most of us cheesemakers couldn’t afford our own cheese!” [27:15]

— Gianaclis Caldwell on Cutting the Curd

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Continuing in the old school/new school series, host Greg Blais hosts two sheeps milk cheesemakers on this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd. He chats with David Major of Vermont Shepherd and Veronica Pedraza of Meadowood Farms. They talk a bit about their work making cheese before jumping into a conversation on the new FDA ban on the use of wood for cheese aging. If that sounds crazy to you, you’re not alone as Greg and his guests wax poetic on the historic method of cheese aging and what it would mean to be without it. This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.

–David Major on Cutting the Curd

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Goat milk cheesemakers love goat, there can never be enough cheesemakers and they all love each other. These are some of the positive takeaways from this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd, a continuation in the Old School vs. New School series hosted by Greg Blais. This week’s episode sees burgeoning cheesemaker Michael Lee of Twig Farm, a small goat dairy and cheese making business chatting with his more experienced counterpart Judy Schad of Capriole Goat Cheese. Hear them geek out on goats, share insights and give aspiring cheesemakers advice. This program was sponsored by Whole Foods Market

–Judy Schad on Cutting the Curd

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What happens when you pit old school next to new school in the cheese world? Find out this week on a brand new episode of Cutting the Curd, as Greg Blais is joined by Jos Vulto of Vulto Creamery and Franklin Peluso, a third generation cheesemaker from California. Tune in to hear their stories and learn what it’s like in the life of a cheesemaker. From raw milk production to inspections – get some real life insight into what it’s like making cheese for a living. This program was sponsored by The International Culinary Center.

–Franklin Peluso on Cutting the Curd

“I find the transformation from fluid milk to hard pressed sweet nutty cheese just amazing.” [28:00]

–Jos Vulto on Cutting the Curd

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Tom Mylan knows his meat. The cult-hero, Executive Butcher and co-owner of The Meat Hook, a butcher shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he cuts, smokes and cures meat that is sourced from small, family-owned farms, is just about to release his first book, The Meat Hook Meat Book: Buy, Butcher, and Cook Your Way to Better Meat. On this week’s book review edition of Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple chats with Tom Mylan about the bookwriting process, his career as a butcher and his previous life as a cheesemonger. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“It was great we weren’t the first people to do a new wave butchering cookbook – because we got to look at all the other ones. We wanted to think of a way to show how animals come apart where you could just look at it” [07:00]

“Anyone can do anything – it’s just a matter of how it’s explained to them.” [10:00]

–Tom Mylan on Cutting the Curd

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Welcome to another episode of the best cheese radio show in the world, Cutting the Curd. This week – host Greg Blais is chatting with two movers and shakers in the world of cheese – Elena Santogade of Arethusa Farm & Dairy, and Lisa Hall of Saxon Creamery. Tune in and hear from both guests as they share their cheese stories. Elena explains what it’s like working with the award winning cows at Arethusa Farm & Dairy and why nothing can beat incredible milk. Later in the show, Lisa shares the Saxon Creamery story and what it’s like operating a 5th generation Wisconsin family farm. This program was sponsored by Of a Kind.

–Lisa Hall on Cutting the Curd

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