When, as a writer, you catch the author of a new book on artisan cheese saying, "I don't care about the cheese," you know you've got the lead to your story. Luckily, Jeff Roberts has a great sense of humor (right, Jeff?). And I did go on to explain that he was primarily interested in the fresh local tomatoes on his heirloom salad and wasn't being picky about which cheese went on it.Warm and funny, he was a great subject for my second feature story for the Oregonian's FoodDay section, published in today's paper. Titled "There's More on His Plate than Cheese," it also had a review of the book, The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, as well as a sidebar on keeping your cheese fresh longer with the cheese paper from Formaticum that I blogged about back in August.
Details: The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese by Jeffrey Roberts. Chelsea Green Publishing, 464 pgs., $35. ISBN 978-1-933392-34-9.
Great piece! Issues that are near and dear to us. My brother Hank and I have been talking about local trumping organic, that we want to know where the food comes from first... as ever kab, your writing is witty, informative, and a pleasure to read!
ReplyDeleteYou know, it really pays to bribe your friends to say nice things about you!
ReplyDeleteBut, really, thanks, Loo. You guys have been so supportive and wonderful. Love you!
Thank you! Outstanding article. I appreciate how you captured both the substance and spirit of the book and my thinking about these subjects.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the wonderful support. And I look forward to dinner again with you guys!
Best,
Jeff
Thank you, Jeff, for your patience, your time and your commitment to these important issues!
ReplyDeleteThe Oregonian article included this sentence about Portland restaurant Nostrana:
ReplyDelete"When looking over the selection of pizzas from the wood-fired oven, he noted that the tartufo oil on one pizza was a chemically manufactured essence, rather than being made from actual truffles."
But Nostrana doesn't use tartufo or truffle oil. The pizza in question included truffled cheese, and the cheese has pieces of actual truffle, not truffle-flavored oil.
I'm pretty sure the menu said "truffle oil" which, according to Jeff, doesn't contain truffles. If there actually were truffles and I got the menu wrong, then I apologize.
ReplyDelete