{"id":20700,"date":"2015-05-22T10:25:53","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T14:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=20700"},"modified":"2015-05-22T10:25:53","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T14:25:53","slug":"head-first-my-start-at-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/head-first-my-start-at-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Head First: My Start at Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the beginning of this month, I packed my car in California, ready for a week-long road trip—up to Oregon, through Wyoming, South Dakota, Ohio, New York—before my planned arrival in Boston, two days before the start of my internship with culture<\/strong>: the word on cheese.<\/p>\n

Before driving off, I checked my email one last time: to make sure I didn\u2019t imagine the culture<\/strong> internship<\/a> existed in the first place (if we\u2019re being honest, I checked culturecheesemag.com<\/a> too, just to confirm it was a real website—again) and to make sure I did have a place to live in Boston (they actually said, \u201cWe want you to move in. Let us know when you\u2019ll be arriving.\u201d). Check. And still, I couldn\u2019t shake a very strong is-this-real-feeling.<\/p>\n

The emails and the bags and boxes of my life in my car confirmed it was real, and I was about to move to Boston to intern for the magazine I fell in love with back in Spring 2013<\/a> (a magazine with a grilled cheese sandwich on the cover! And a huge cheese centerfold! It was love at first sight). So, awkward feeling or not, we (me, my stuff, and my friend) left California on a road towards cheese!<\/p>\n

The trip was complex and beautiful—full of natural wonder (Multnomah Falls<\/a> in Oregon, Grand Teton<\/a> in Wyoming, Badlands<\/a> in South Dakota), great company (friends, family, animals) and of course, some road-sturdy cheese (Udderwise goat’s milk cheese in Idaho, Yellow House <\/a> sheep’s milk cheese from Ohio, Cuba Cheese<\/a> cheese curds from New York). It was a unique and surreal experience.<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/a>

Grand Teton National Park<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Udderwise<\/a>

Udderwise Dairy Cheese<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Sally the Dog<\/p><\/div>\n

I pulled into Boston on schedule and began settling into to my new (almost equally surreal) life.<\/p>\n

Enter culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If I had to sum up my first week here, it would be with a (repeated) quote from culture<\/strong>\u2019s own Grant Bradley, \u201cIt isn\u2019t normally like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

I landed in the offices the week before counter culture<\/a><\/strong>, an educational event for the cheese industry, hosted by culture<\/strong>. On my first day, an enormous box of Beemster<\/a> cheese was delivered. I thought it was the most cheese I would ever see in one box (I thought).<\/p>\n

Over the next few days I watched more deliveries, more cheese, meetings, space planning, and scheduling logistics all in preparation for the first ever counter culture<\/strong> event. There was also a cheese tasting and a cider tasting. And somewhere in the midst of all that, I was learning the culture<\/strong> ways and how to write a cheese bite<\/a>. I was writing, and my world was filling with cheese (read: awesome).<\/p>\n

So, naturally (and happily) I offered my time for the counter culture<\/strong> event itself (read: more cheese).<\/p>\n

Sunday came and oh.my.god. Cheese! That one box of Beemster I thought was enormous turned out to be only a tiny, tiny sliver of what was being prepped and served for the event. Coolers, boxes, tables, trays, and shelves were packed with cheeses, meats, and cheese-friendly foods.<\/p>\n

\"Beemster<\/a>

counter culture: Beemster Cheese<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Plated<\/a>

counter culture: French Cheese Club<\/p><\/div>\n

The Food Loft was transforming into a cheese haven, complete with lecture hall, a \u201ctasting lane,\u201d and a lunchroom filled with p\u00e2t\u00e9, charcuterie, bread, butter, spreads, and sandwiches. (When I heard of a place called \u201cThe Food Loft,\u201d this is what I pictured anyway, so it really works out for me).<\/p>\n

I dove in—prepping packets, plating p\u00e2t\u00e9, stacking and serving cheeses. I watched cheesemakers, mongers, retailers, and distributors arrive. Then, as happens with most events, the day becomes a blur—there\u2019s running, fetching, moving, helping, and then somehow, the day is wrapping up.<\/p>\n

In that blur though, I was fortunate to taste nearly all of the cheeses, listen to bits and pieces of presentations, and talk with some of the presenters and attendees. Ah, and eat. I ate a lot.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day I was exhausted, stuffed, covered in a film of cheese, and happier than I\u2019ve been in a long time. Cheese people are fascinating and fantastic, and culture<\/strong> brings them together.<\/p>\n

I know I have yet to see what culture<\/strong> is \u201cnormally\u201d like, and I know there\u2019s a lot more to do than cheese bites, but so far, I\u2019m hooked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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