{"id":40611,"date":"2021-10-12T16:07:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T20:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=40611"},"modified":"2023-02-26T08:58:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T13:58:57","slug":"remembering-anne-saxelby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Anne Saxelby"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cheese industry mourns a trailblazer, supporter, and friend to all<\/em><\/h3>\n

Update, October 14, 2021:<\/em> Through Slow Food USA, family and friends of Anne Saxelby have established the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund<\/strong> to provide training opportunities to financially distressed teenagers and young adults. To donate and learn more, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The cheese universe has been shocked and saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers<\/a> and a champion of American artisan cheesemakers. Saxelby, who was 40, died in her sleep on Saturday, October 9 due to a heart condition. She leaves behind her husband, Patrick Martins, founder and president of Heritage Foods<\/a> and Heritage Radio Network<\/a>, and their three young children. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started <\/span>culture<\/b> one of the first people [co-founder] Kate Arding told me about was Anne, and when we started Victory Cheese<\/a> she was the one of the first people we got in touch with,” says culture<\/strong> co-founder Stephanie Skinner<\/span>. \u201cThe thing that I hear so often beyond \u2018legend,\u2019 \u2018icon,\u2019 etc. is that she was a friend to everybody, and completely open. It\u2019s heartbreaking to lose someone like this because she was one of the superstars that everyone recognized as being a superstar. It leaves a huge void. Not seeing her at American Cheese Society<\/a> events is going to be so sad. When she walked into a room she lit it up\u2014not in a wild person kind of way, but her goodness just surrounded her.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Judy Schad of Capriole Goat Cheeses<\/a> in Indiana got to know Saxelby about the time Saxelby was opening her shop in 2006. \u201cShe liked our cheeses and was very supportive,\u201d says Schad; however, shipping issues continually prevented Schad\u2019s cheeses from arriving at the shop in good shape. While Saxelby didn\u2019t become a regular customer, she remained a friend. \u201cShe was gracious,\u201d Schad says. \u201cThat\u2019s not a word you hear used a lot to describe people. She was thoughtful, supportive. There are so many people who don\u2019t walk the talk, but she did. We just kind of fell in love with Anne\u2014who didn\u2019t?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Keehn, founder of Cypress Grove Creamery<\/a> in California, shared her thoughts in an email. “Anne was a gift\u2014not just to the cheese community but to the world. Kind and always generous of spirit, she influenced perhaps all of us in so many ways. My heart goes out to her family and all who loved her.”<\/p>\n

Yoav Perry, a longtime cheesemaker who opened Perrystead Dairy<\/a> in Philadelphia earlier this year, echoes Schad and Keehn. \u201cI adored Anne. Her work validated to me the need to ditch a former career for cheese,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was the first to distribute my stuff years ago. Her insistence on putting American artisan cheese at center stage in New York City changed the entire perception of what American artisan cheese is for those stakeholders, top chefs, jaded foodies, and traveled europhiles, and she changed this industry well beyond NYC. Her special brand of patience one needs when working with fledgling new producers was her investment in everyone\u2019s future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By all accounts, Saxelby was not only knowledgeable and passionate about her mission to create a market for fine American cheeses, she was humble, generous, and kind. Adam Moskowitz met her when he was working at Formaggio Essex, in the same market as the original Saxelby Cheesemongers. \u201cI was struck by a few things,\u201d says Moskowitz, founder of the Cheesemonger Invitational<\/a> and owner of Columbia Cheese<\/a> and Larkin Cold Storage. \u201cThere was such a gentleness, sincerity, and affability to her that was attractive and inspiring. There was a depth of knowledge and a willingness to share it with zero arrogance\u2014Anne unequivocally should be considered a cheese expert, but she never carried the pretension of one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Saxelby discovered fine cheese while studying in Italy as a college sophomore at New York University. After graduating with a degree in studio art, she got her start in the cheese business behind the counter at Murray\u2019s Cheese<\/a> in the city, and earned the process of making cheese at Cato Corner Farm<\/a> in Connecticut. A meeting with the famous French affineur Herv\u00e9 Mons led to a stint working with cheesemakers in the Loire Valley. She boldly opened her first shop in the decidedly not upscale Essex Market\u2014offering only artisan American cheeses at a time when many of these cheeses were unknown to most consumers\u2014and developed a restaurant clientele, delivering cheese in the early days on her bicycle. \u201cHer forward thinking in terms of committing solely to domestic production was frankly revolutionary,\u201d says Moskowitz. \u201cEspecially on the Lower East Side, where the general consumer was eager for cheeses they were familiar with.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2017, Saxelby Cheesemongers opened a second and larger location at Chelsea Market. When she spoke to c<\/strong><\/span>ulture<\/strong> for Voicings<\/a> in 2016, Saxelby said she wanted to write a book, and in October 2020 Ten Speed Press published <\/span>The New Rules of Cheese: A Freewheeling and Informative Guide<\/span><\/i>, to rave reviews<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> In the early days of podcasting, she also launched <\/span>Cutting the Curd<\/span><\/i>, which is still broadcast on the Heritage Radio Network. \u201cSo often, she was the first,\u201d says Moskowitz. \u201cOne of my fondest memories of her (and she wasn’t even there) is being at Murray\u2019s for a business meeting and being in awe of a painting on the wall, only to find out that she painted it. At the core she was a true artist, and her approach to cheesemongering, cheese curation, cheese collaboration, and cheese education is her masterpiece.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":26079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,26354],"tags":[2339,1389,1858,1130,4259,25521,25329,27802],"coauthors":[25425],"class_list":["post-40611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-stories","tag-adam-moskowitz","tag-american-cheese","tag-anne-saxelby","tag-judy-schad","tag-saxelby-cheesemongers","tag-stephanie-skinner","tag-victory-cheese","tag-yoav-perry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRemembering Anne Saxelby - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Anne Saxelby\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-12T20:07:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-26T13:58:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan Axelrod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Axelrod\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/\",\"name\":\"Remembering Anne Saxelby - culture: the word on cheese\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-12T20:07:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-26T13:58:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/51d827eb7fcac2323c2d15d455531815\"},\"description\":\"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":368},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Remembering Anne Saxelby\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\",\"name\":\"culture: the word on cheese\",\"description\":\"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/51d827eb7fcac2323c2d15d455531815\",\"name\":\"Susan Axelrod\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4d553060a2eda5ab5d2658161e68f8ca\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ed-Note-Susan-Axelrod_Innovation2021-1-Heidi-Kirn-scaled-e1633724951764-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ed-Note-Susan-Axelrod_Innovation2021-1-Heidi-Kirn-scaled-e1633724951764-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Susan Axelrod\"},\"description\":\"Susan Sherrill Axelrod is a former editor of Culture. Her love affair with cheese began at age 12, when she bicycled to a gourmet shop to taste an exotic newcomer\u2014French brie. She lives with her partner in midcoast Maine, where she enjoys a well-made cocktail, hiking with their dog, Lucy, and spending as much time as possible on the water.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/susan-sherrill-axelrod\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering Anne Saxelby - culture: the word on cheese","description":"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Anne Saxelby","og_description":"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.","og_url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/","og_site_name":"culture: the word on cheese","article_published_time":"2021-10-12T20:07:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-26T13:58:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":368,"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Susan Axelrod","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Susan Axelrod","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/","name":"Remembering Anne Saxelby - culture: the word on cheese","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-12T20:07:36+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-26T13:58:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/51d827eb7fcac2323c2d15d455531815"},"description":"The cheese universe has been shocked & saddened by the unexpected death of Anne Saxelby, founder of Saxelby Cheesemongers and American cheesemaker champion.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AnnaSaxelby_ftr.jpg","width":750,"height":368},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/remembering-anne-saxelby\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Remembering Anne Saxelby"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/","name":"culture: the word on cheese","description":"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/51d827eb7fcac2323c2d15d455531815","name":"Susan Axelrod","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4d553060a2eda5ab5d2658161e68f8ca","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ed-Note-Susan-Axelrod_Innovation2021-1-Heidi-Kirn-scaled-e1633724951764-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ed-Note-Susan-Axelrod_Innovation2021-1-Heidi-Kirn-scaled-e1633724951764-150x150.jpg","caption":"Susan Axelrod"},"description":"Susan Sherrill Axelrod is a former editor of Culture. Her love affair with cheese began at age 12, when she bicycled to a gourmet shop to taste an exotic newcomer\u2014French brie. She lives with her partner in midcoast Maine, where she enjoys a well-made cocktail, hiking with their dog, Lucy, and spending as much time as possible on the water.","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/susan-sherrill-axelrod\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40611"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=40611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}