Cheese Snob at Food Show: Cheese Snob Wendy Visits the NASFT Fancy Food Show
July 10-11, 2006 - New York, NY

In the midst of the summer heat, Cheese Snob Wendy kept cool by heading indoors to the glass behemoth that is The Jacob Javits Convention Center, located on the west side of Manhattan. The 2006 NASFT Fancy Food Show was in town, and Cheese Snob Wendy was in search of cheese.  

Her first destination was the MS Selection Export booth, located in the French section. There she saw her cheese friend Felix Forté, and he treated her to a lovely cheese tasting. As Cheese Snob Wendy sampled some of France's best exports, Felix told her all about each cheese, including production and affinage methods.   Her favorites were Tomme de Fedou, Langres, and Gres de Vosges, although she says all of the cheeses she sampled were delicious. While Felix and Cheese Snob Wendy enjoyed their cheese tasting, Ihsan Gurdal stopped by to say hello and meet Cheese Snob Wendy. Gurdal is the proprietor of the venerable Formaggio Kitchen, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Formaggio Essex, in New York City's Essex Market, located in the Lower East Side. And he is one of Cheese Snob Wendy's Cheese Heroes.

As Cheese Snob Wendy sauntered through the Food Show, she spotted Cato Corner Farm's Mark Gillman, who with his mother, Elizabeth MacAlister, make cheese on their beautiful land in rural Connecticut.   At Cato Corner's booth, Mark was handing out samples of many of their acclaimed cheeses, including old favorites such as Dutch Farmstead and new creations like Bloomsday. All of Cato Corner's cheeses are made with the unpasteurized milk of their organically-fed Jersey cows. You can find their wares every Wednesday and Saturday at the Union Square Greenmarket, located in Union Square Park, just above 14th Street and Broadway in New York City.

Later that day, Cheese Snob Wendy ran into another Cheese Friend, Jayne Rockmill. They went over to the Artisanal Cheese Center to attend their Cheese Tasting, where Artisanal showed off the "before-and-after" results of their Affinage Program. In the midst of cheese consumption and happy mingling, Jayne introduced Cheese Snob Wendy to another one of her Cheese Heroes: Max McCalman, Maître Fromager at restaurant Picholine, and author of "The Cheese Plate" and "Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best."  

As Cheese Snob Wendy was preparing to leave, Ms. Dyas instructed Cheese Snob Wendy to go a few aisles over to meet Mrs. Mary Quicke, she of Quicke's Farmhouse Cheddar. Not only does Mrs. Quicke make one of the top farmhouse Cheddars in England - nay, the world - she is also a delightfully cheerful and energetic lady. When Cheese Snob Wendy gets to England, in addition to visiting The Fine Cheese Company, she will surely make a stop in Devon to see Mrs. Quicke, her cows, and her fine clothbound Cheddars.