"cheese festival" news and stories

What happens when the country's most prominent cheesemongers come together to celebrate cheese? Imagine cheese paradise – a room with a long rectangular table covered by tantalizing geometric patterns of cheeses ranging from dried-fruit-covered German Limburger to Oregon's Caveman Blue, meringues topped with creamy Strathdon Blue and juicy sweet raspberries, the full range of Tom Cat Bakery breads, and a selection of refreshments from Butternuts Beer and Ale.

That's exactly what the scene was like this past Saturday at the first ever Cheesemonger Invitational. Filling up a vast food warehouse in the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., the event celebrated the country's best cheesemongers, from Anthea Stolz at San Francisco's Bi-Rite Market to Matthew Rubiner at Great Barrington's Rubiners Cheesemongers & Grocers. In town to attend the Fancy Food Show, pretty much anybody else in the food business who's interested in or even remotely involved in cheese was also in attendance.

With the Fourth Annual Seattle Cheese Festival taking place this weekend, the focus is, naturally, on cheese. Eighteen year old Kelsey Kozak takes cheese-making seriously. The Times offers up some accompanying recipes: Caprese Chopped Salad, Fondue with Beecher's Flagship Cheeses, and Five-Cheese Macaroni.

Nancy Leson lists places to get a true roasting chicken.

As people prepare for outdoor entertaining, wine expert Paul Gregutt makes Washington wine selections that can be mixed and matched. Also in wine, an answer to the question of whether the disappointment in $20-50 merlots is real.