Cheese: How I got here
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.
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.
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