RVANews

Cheese: Meeting an idol

Dany Schutte — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:00:29 +0000

Welcome to the latest installment in our food artisan series in which some of Richmond greatest food enthusiasts and craftspeople share what they love about what they do. Here Dany Schutte, cheesemonger in the Indulge Department at Ellwood Thompson's, tells us about meeting one of her cheese idols.

I carry his business card in my wallet.

This is not an unusual thing to carry someone's business card around with you. I can tell you that his is the only cheese industry card I keep with me at all times. Not because he is my go-to man for help. He is my hero. And he handed me his card.

I suppose every industry and niche has those who rise to the top -- the ones who inspire the rest. Herve Mons is one of those folks. Herve is a third generation affineur in France is ranked among the top in his field there. For a small time cheesemonger like myself, Herve is god, with a little 'g'. And I got to meet him once.

I was working in San Francisco, moving a lot of cheese and being amazed on a regular basis by the cheese folks who would, without warning, wander into my location. Just because, hey, it was San Francisco and who doesn't want to visit? So, I have been able to meet more than my fair share of cheesemakers, dairy farmers, food importers, brokers, and distributors from all over the world. It was all about being in the right spot at the right time.

One week, we were all excited because a locally-based importer was hosting a talk by Herve Mons at one of their offices. So, there we were, all fitted into this classroom space, eager to listen to the man: Janet Fletcher (food writer and author from The San Francisco Chronicle), Gary Danko (James Beard Award winner and Premier Chef in San Francisco), bunches of food folks, and a gaggle of cheese peeps from the region's retail stores. Herve had a slide show of the various dairy farmers he buys the cheese from and the caves in which he does his aging in. This man was so excited and passionate about what he does, he could no longer maintain speaking in English and just suddenly reverted back to French. The distributor jumped up to do translation from that point onward. I was very excited when I left there, because, you know, it is catching.

The next day, who walks into my store but Herve and the distributor. Herve wanted to see the store before going to the airport. I was thrilled. I showed him around, including downstairs where we kept our backstock. We talked about how selling cheese in America differs from Europe and what can be done here to better preserve the cheese. We even unpacked an order of his cheese that arrived on the loading dock while he was standing there. He pulled out his digital camera and took pictures because this was the first time he had ever been on he receiving end of his cheeses after an international trip. He smiled and told me that he was giving me my first lesson in affinage, as he proceeded to tell me how to best wash the wheels of Morbier and Raclette so they would continue to live and mature. Those two hours I spent with him were very magical to me. I learned from the master, and he was gracious and patient with me. Before he left, he handed me his business card.

And I still carry it in my wallet.

Dany Schutte serves as cheesemonger at Ellwood Thompson's Local Market in Carytown. Read her previous contributions here. Check back in the coming weeks as she tells us more about her craft. And be sure to stop by for a visit should you find yourself in her store!

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Cheese: Playing favorites

Dany Schutte — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:00:37 +0000

My favorite cheese, hmmmm. Kinda like asking a mom to own up to a favorite child. Honestly, keeping up with my favorite cheese is quite like chasing a moving target at best. It will change with the seasons, it will change with my mood. I could possibly be stuck on the same thing for a while or have it change in mere minutes. That said, I am currently in love with a cheese. And let me tell you what, it has been a couple of years since I was this in love with a goat cheese.

I'll share it with you in a moment, first allow me to wax poetic about goat cheeses in general. Like most Americans my only experience with goat cheese was grabbing that too familiar bright white goat log in a cryovac package -- tart, tangy. And honestly, if this is goat cheese, ummm, no thanks. However, as fortune had it, my learning experience in the world of cheese happened in North California -- Mecca for the world of American Artisanal Goat Cheese culture, home to giants like Laura Chenel, Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm, and my friend, Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove. Their wonderful cheese, like Mary's Humboldt Fog, gave me a moment to pause and reconsider my palate. Then I began to experience a world of French aged goat cheeses, most of which at the time were unpasteurized, and the love affair was on.

After coming back home to Richmond, my love for goat is fed by Goats R Us out of Blackstone, Virginia. Lovely, creamy... not that bitter, tart stuff, but also a good age goat. A lot of the French aged goats coming into the states underwent some change after 9/11. Most are now thermalized, which means they're pasteurized at a higher heat but put through a shorter hold time. Consequently it is harder to get the unpasteurized styles I had come to love so much. However, Ellwood's recently started carrying cheeses from Capriole Farms in Indiana. Judy Schad is the cheesewoman there and has been for 30 years. The cheese we have right now that makes my mouth water is the Old Kentucky Tomme. It's nutty (with a hint of sweetness to it), very layered and complex, and especially long-finishing. I have fallen in love with this cheese.

Ah, the delight and joy I get when that one customer comes through and I get the sense about them, that they might like this cheese.. and I taste them on it.. and get a "Wow, yes please." This is why I do what I do.

Cheese: How I got here

Dany Schutte — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:00:17 +0000

Welcome to a new series on RVANews where some of Richmond's greatest food artisans share what they love about what they do. In this first installment, cheesemonger Dany Schutte gives a firsthand account of how she found herself in Ellwood Thompson's Indulge Department.

Never did I imagine in my youth that I would some day become a cheesemonger. A firewoman, police officer, even a minister, but nope, cheesemonger was not among the list. Actually, I wasn't that interested in food, outside just eating it. Somewhere in my early to mid-twenties, while watching Jeff Smith (AKA The Frugal Gourmet on PBS) did the bulb above my head start to show some glow. Here was a man, a minister no less, teaching about food. Not just cook this, do that, but through story and history and sometimes even through ritual and mystery. He quoted Joseph Campbell frequently, and I was suddenly in love with cooking. I wanted to do this. I became a competent cook.

Life took me from Richmond to Austin, Texas where my new housemates took me to visit Central Market on North Lamar. At the time, around early '97, it was a singular place, the flagship high end store to the HEB grocery chain. It was also touted as one of Austin's top five tourist attractions. From the moment I walked through the doors, I knew I had to work there. And I did, for the two years I lived there. I worked in the charcuterie, receiving a full education on all varieties of cured and cooked meats. Central Market was a food-lovers paradise. In that environment is where I understood that I was also a foodie. The more I tasted, the more I was eager to learn.

It wasn't until I moved to San Francisco that my real passion surfaced. I joined Whole Foods, being placed into the specialty department due to my experience with charcuterie. Of course, it is also where the cheese lived. Here is where I said "OK, I want to earn the right to call myself a cheesemonger." I soaked up all the knowledge I could from mentors, coworkers, importers, cheesemakers, affineurs; I was truly in love and at home. Nine years later, life brought me back to Richmond, my hometown. I found a place with Ellwood Thompson's in Carytown, in the "Indulge Department", where we sell cheese, chocolates, gourmet crackers, beer, and wine. I share buying with my coworker, Keith Crayton. We discuss and choose the selection you find in store. I am also the one responsible for the monthly class in cheese offered to our customers. Teaching is another joy of mine, I get a real pleasure out of sharing my knowledge with people.

Dany Schutte serves as cheesemonger at Ellwood Thompson's Local Market in Carytown. Check back in the coming weeks as she tells us more about her craft. And be sure to stop by for a visit should you find yourself in her store!