Tenaya Darlington is an author, instructor and a restaurant cheese director based in Philadelphia. She's well known for her cheese-centric adventures, which she shares online and in person through a variety of mediums. Her new book is part cheese history, part cheese science, and 100% inspiration for designing your own cheese adventure, whether its out in the world, or in your own home.

On today's episode we have Amye Gulezian, the Specialty Foods Operations Manager at High Lawn Farm, located in Lee, Massachusetts. Amy has been both a cheesemaker and cheesemonger since 2018 and has a degree in Agricultural and Heritage Dairy Production. I’m excited to catch up with her about the latest at the Massachusetts Cheese Fest and what’s developing at High Lawn Farm.

Our guest today is Tom Perry, cheese sales manager of Shelburne Farms, a cheddar producer located in Vermont. He has been a cheesemonger in the New England scene for many years and was a previous winner of the DZTA scholarship.

Loveneh Labneh is a collaboration between Erivan Yogurt and Merion Park Cheese Co, The story of these two Philadelphia-area companies, and how they came together, is a modern story rooted in tradition and memory.

In this inspiring episode, Joe checks in with CMI Masters Champions Courtney Johnson and Sam Rollins. Courtney and Sam will each individually represent Team USA in September 2023 at the Mondial Du Fromage in Tours, France, an elite biannual world champion cheese monger event. If either of them win, it would be a first for a USA cheesemonger! - GO team USA! Photo courtesy of Kathryn M. Sheldon.

Sarah Simiele, owner of The Curd Nerd in Syracuse, NY has forged a path from Microbiology studies to cheese shop ownership with no signs of slowing down. A story about following your passion and taking risks that most recently culminated in being crowned the new CMI champion. Listen and get inspired!

We're doing things a little differently on this week's episode of Cutting the Curd. Our dear friend and former CTC host Diane Stemple is being recognized by the new world chapter of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers for her work in the cheese industry. For decades, Diane promoted artisanal cheese makers form the US and abroad, first as a monger, then in sales, then as a brand ambassador, and of course as a co host of this podcast. Diane’s niche was interviewing authors about their...

Today we welcome CJ Bienert to CTC for the first time! CJ & Kari Bienert are the owners of both the Cheese Shop of Des Moines and Cheese Bar of Des Moines. We discuss what it was like in 2011 to start up a cheese shop in their twenties and the upcoming ACS conference that will be held again this year in Des Moines.

In her latest book, "Spoiled: The Myth of Milk as Superfood," Anne Mendelson deconstructs the history of 'drinking milk' and the myths, scientific developments, and social constructs that have supported the growth of an industry, for better or worse.

Our guests are Oliver Ford and Britton Welsh, Director of Sales and President of Beehive Cheese respectively. We examine how they became B Corp certified and the advantages of being a B Corp company. Plus, we deep dive into of some of their greatest flavor origin stories, starting with their classic Barely Buzzed and now to their newest venture Red Butte Hatch Chile cheese. Photo courtesy of Katie Schall.

On our latest episode, Joe chats with Trevor Warmedahl, the 2022 Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment Award winner. Trevor is known as the "Milk_Trekker" by his popular instagram and YouTube handle where he is followed by thousands. Trevor is a real life nomadic herdsman, cheese maker, writer, and educator who has traveled to remote areas of the world studying different coagulation and rennet practices while embracing regenerative grazing and sustainable livestock practices. We catch up to hear...

Marissa Mullen, founder of That Cheese Plate and creator of Cheese By Numbers, is back with us to celebrate her new book, That Cheese Plate Wants to Party. We get into the details of writing a second book, social media, book deals, and building a work life you love. We also dive into the book and talk cheese plates, cheese pairings, and cheese playlists! Photo courtesy of Alyssa Greenberg.

We finally got a Pizza expert on Cutting the Curd! On this episode Cara and Joe interview Peter of HRN 's Pizza Quest about everything form best practices of cheese to the new wave dough movement hitting the Pizza crust domain. Plus, we review the philosophy of artisan Pizza and its similarities to cheesemongering. In the words of the great Michelangelo, Cowabunga! Photo courtesy of Ron Manville.

Back in June 2014, almost a decade ago, our former CTC host Greg Blais chatted with Mike Lee of Twig Farm Vermont and Judy Schad of Capriole Goat Cheese Indiana to learn the differences between the two goat cheesemakers. Each farm milks the alpine breed of goat but has very different cheesemaking styles. Here we take a look at the thought provoking nuances between the two classic American artisanal producers.

Zach Berg and Will Werner met when they were ten years old in Michigan. After living in the Bay Area for a few years, they wrote a mission statement for a new food business, Mongers' Provisions, focused on supplying customers for a journey of Cultivation, Connection, and Passion. Now co-owners of two retail locations in Metro Detroit, Zach and Will join us to discuss beginnings, growth, and lessons learned.

In this episode, we catch up cheese monger extraordinaire Lassa Skinner about the many hair pin turns she has taken in her storied career as a cheese professional. Lassa is co-founder of Culture magazine, author of two books; 'Cheese for Dummies' and 'Cheese Boards to Share', and also is the mind behind Counter Culture events to help further cheesesmongers' education.

Cheeses are alive, and cheeses of all types are influenced by their environment. Once a cheese leaves the caves and enters the suppy chain, we need to do more than cross our fingers that it will make it to a customer in good condition. One of the responsibilites of cheesemongers is to continue to care for cheeses after they arrive to the store. In this episode, we speak with Jen Lopez from Forever Cheese and Catilin Adler from Bedford Cheese Shop in NYC to talk about Cheesemonger Education...

On today's episode, we discuss with buttermonger Sheana Davis the various butter types in available in the US, how compound butters can be made, and what makes them special. Plus, we look at the attributes of AOP French butters.

Meet Sean Hartwig, the specialty food manager at Zingerman's Deli. In this episode, Sean shares cheese tales about what he has seen and learned over his 14 years at the Zingerman's cheese counter. We discuss what servant leadership is, and what changes Zingerman's has made since 2020 that have improved work / life for the team and what makes things at Zingerman's Deli tick. Photo courtesy of S. Carter.

On today’s episode we have Guillaume Dupin, Export Manager of Maison Agour based in the Basque country. He's on the program to help us learn more about the Basque gastronomic culture relating to worlds of Ossau Iraty, Petit Agour, and Bayonne Ham.

Molly Browne, Directory of Education at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, joins us to discuss Cheese State University, a digital campus for people in the cheese industry to "deepen their knowledge, sharpen their skills, and build connections".

Some people know cheese and some people really know cheese. On today's episode we catch up with Alex Armstrong, Sensory Evaluator and Educator at Jasper Hill Farm. He is on the program today to help us understand what it means to be a sensory evaluator and how it can be useful for cheesemaking and sales.

Jasleen and Tarush Agarwal, first generation immigrants from India who met and married in California, could not find a Paneer that wasn't highly processed or tasted anything close to what they enjoyed growing up. So Jasleen started making her own. A couple of years later, they started Sach Foods to bring organic, high protein, great tasting Paneer to the US market. Tarush joins us for a conversation about the role this singular cheese plays in Indian cuisine and vegetarian diets, the...

A look into Lakin's Gorges Cheese with Allison Lakin, head cheesemaker and owner of East Forty Farm. She has been making cheese since the early 2000's and is now winning awards for her cheeses like Rockweed. Here we take a deep dive into what it means to be a Maine Cheesemaker and how studying anthropology can help you make better cheese.

We're back and this time we have Joe Salonia on the show. Director of Sales and Marketing in the US for Gourmino Affinage and Selection, Joe is coming off the big win of having a best in show cheese at the World Cheese Awards. Here we kick back and discuss what it means to win such an award and what's next for the cheesemakers of Gourmino.