Thoughts from the Director of Operations
When I first started working at Artisanal it was just a job for me, as I was out of work and needed something to do. I had just recently moved back to the city and wanted to work, and had been informed about this new company which was in the opening stages and was looking for someone to handle all calls for the office. Having over 10 years experience working in the hospitality industry I thought I would give this a try. At the time Artisanal was still setting up operations and working on getting the website ready to go live. There was a lot of behind the scenes work which I was a part of and assisted in setting up. I had thought I knew cheese, I did know what it was that I liked, which was the typical cheeses one found in many stores, Kraft singles, Velveta, and Finlandia Swiss.
When I was asked what my favorite cheese was I would say Swiss cheese, I always had to have it on my sandwiches. Well let me tell you almost 6 years later I now know when someone asks me what my favorite cheese is, I can not answer this simple question. I have grown and expanded my taste and knowledge for cheese. I am unable to just choose one cheese as a favorite. We have so many cheeses that I have learned about and enjoyed over the years and there are so many new cheeses coming in that I have yet to learn about. Although I still sway towards the Mountain style cheese, and I feel is a must have on any cheese plate, I also enjoy many other great cheeses that I have experienced in my time with Artisanal such as, Epoisses, Abbaye de Belloc, Vacherin Mont d’Or and Tomme Fermiere d’Alsace, just to name a few. But I have learned that even for each season some cheeses are better then others, and that the animals grazing and eating habits also make a difference in the flavor and texture of the cheese. So with all the great options I can not just pick one.