{"id":48866,"date":"2025-01-15T17:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T22:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=48866"},"modified":"2025-01-15T17:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T22:27:11","slug":"how-to-make-friends-local-cheesemonger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/how-to-make-friends-local-cheesemonger\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Become Friends With Your Local Cheesemonger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t be intimidated by those folks behind the counter! Their job\u2014beyond obvious cheese sales\u2014is to turn skeptics into believers and expose your palate to new flavors and textures. Here are five tips and tricks from Rachel Johnston<\/span>, sales and operations manager of Chicago-based cheese shop All Together Now<\/span><\/a>, that\u2019ll help you strengthen your bond with your local monger:<\/p>\n

1 \u2014 Ask what cheeses they\u2019re loving right now: <\/b><\/span>\u201cWhen you develop a great rapport with your cheesemonger, the first recommendations you\u2019ll get are the cheeses at their peak, the exciting new arrivals, and the items in limited quantities that they know you\u2019ll be just as jazzed about as they are! Imagine walking up, greeting a familiar face, and simply saying, \u2018Sicilian Orange Wine.\u2019 Your monger exclaims, \u2018I have JUST the thing!\u2019 and brings you a cheese that will set off a fireworks-in-your-mouth pairing.\u201d<\/p>\n

2\u2014 Know your texture preference: <\/b><\/span>\u201cI think that\u2019s the easiest [criteria] and can narrow down a lot of choices. Then, I usually ask playfully if they want to be adventurous or stick to crowd-pleasers. This allows them to declare their preferences without having shame for possibly not liking the \u2018funky\u2019 stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

3\u2014 Don\u2019t be a jerk: <\/b><\/span>\u201cI once had a customer who asked where the \u2018good French cheeses\u2019 were before making a quip about how \u2018terrible\u2019 American cheese is. He was in Chicago from the UK and wanted some snacks for his hotel room. I immediately challenged him by explaining that there are actually American producers out there working really hard to buck the stereotype that all we have here is processed American singles. I really had to convince him that American artisanal cheeses are worth their salt\u2014I remember pushing the limits of good customer service versus being defensive with this guy, but it paid off! I gave him a taste of Jasper Hill Farm\u2019s Willoughby and watched his eyes light up in amazement. It felt really good to successfully defend US-based makers that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

4\u2014 Give them a prompt: <\/b><\/span>\u201cWhen a familiar customer begins by telling me about the bottle they\u2019re opening tonight, or opens with a really unusual question, I know there\u2019s a sense of kinship there. They\u2019ll often purchase the first cheese I spout off as an idea because they trust a monger\u2019s enthusiasm and instincts about a cheese, and I know what will excite them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

4\u2014 Do more than just buy cheese! <\/b><\/span>\u201cSee if your local cheese counter offers any public classes or if they will organize a private workshop for you and your friends! It\u2019s a great change-of-pace activity. If you can\u2019t find any classes, make a board for your friends and host a cheese party! Also, making a point to leave a good review of your favorite spots is incredibly impactful. Engaging in their social media presence can also go a long way to get the word out to others about your favorite cheese counter!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t be intimidated by those folks behind the counter! Their job\u2014beyond obvious cheese sales\u2014is to turn skeptics into believers and expose your palate to new flavors and textures. Here are five tips and tricks from Rachel Johnston, sales and operations manager of Chicago-based cheese shop All Together Now, that\u2019ll help you strengthen your bond with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":48867,"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":[15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[33807],"class_list":["post-48866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-iq"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Become Friends With Your Local Cheesemonger - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\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\/how-to-make-friends-local-cheesemonger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Become Friends With Your Local Cheesemonger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don\u2019t be intimidated by those folks behind the counter! 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