Since this is my first contribution to this blog please let me introduce myself: I am a Swiss food journalist turned cheese importer & wholesaler. My company, Quality Cheese, was born out of lack. When I moved to Florida fifteen years ago I immediately started to miss all the fabulous cheeses I had loved, been exposed to and eaten daily back home.

During a phone call with my friend, Affineur Rolf Beeler, I mentioned that I would have to start importing his products. Somehow this little joke stuck in my head. A few months later I ordered thirty pounds each of Rolf’s Gruyere, Sbrinz and Emmentaler. I set out for a trip that led me to five cities and chefs like Tom Keller, Daniel Boulud, Gray Kuntz and Charlie Trotter. Upon my return I found the first order on my fax machine. From a certain Mr. Max McCalman for (at the time) Picholine Restaurant.

The Culture crew just got back from the Fancy food Show on Wednesday! It's quite the experience the first time around. This year it was held in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C. It also happened to be murderously hot outdoors, which made the cavernous interior of the venue a welcome refuge.

Laid out in aisles by country and state, with rough categories within that structure, the show is massive. Overwhelming is a word I heard often in the three days we were there. It took a full ten minutes to get from end to end at a swift clip.

That said, thousands of vendors are there to show off their product, which means mass amounts of free food, drink, and…ummm…CHEEESE!!

My ears are still ringing with the sounds of Adam Moscowitz’s voice at this year’s Cheesemonger Invitational (last Friday the 8th). Despite a depressing drizzle outside, the competition could still be heard and smelled from many yards away. Held in Larkin warehouse, in Long Island City, the event was a big frigging deal.

For perspective, note this: three Australian cheesemongers made the trip from down under JUST for this event.

Beer from Six Point Brewery and an enormous cheese spread from Tia Keenan kept the crowd fueled throughout the night, and the enthusiasm was palpable.

My name is Sarah Jung and I’m lactose intolerant.

No, not really.  Actually, kind of.  It’s a placebo-induced intolerance; one that I’ve been trying to overcome ever since I found out my mom only told us we’re allergic to dairy because she (still) believes it’s bad for our health.  Ah, those cheeseless, everything-less pizza days.  And yet, despite any faux-intolerance, I’ve always loved milky coffee, found myself lingering at the cheese counter in delis and supermarkets on more than a few occasions, and quickly made a habit of trading my bean burrito for string cheese during lunchtime.