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Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
Books: CookBooks: Cheese: Item 8
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Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Bestby Max Mccalman and David Gibbons
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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful: A wonderful addition to any cheese lover's library!, September 22, 2005 Reviewer:Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - Artisanal cheese is cheese that has been hand-crafted in small batches according to time-honored techniques, recipes, and traditions. Domestic production of quality artisanal cheeses is on the rise. With the recent opening of the Artisanal Cheese Center in New York, more folks have the opportunity to taste and buy local and European traditional farmstead cheeses - which is wonderful!! Max McCalman and David Gibbons, who co-authored the widely acclaimed "The Cheese Plate," have just come out with the extraordinary "Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best." McCalman is renowned as one of the world's experts in artisanal cheeses. Cheese is his passion and he has dedicated himself to helping others understand and enjoy its unique pleasures. Mr. McCalman, America's first restaurant-based Matre Fromager, is also a Garde et Jure as designated by France's exclusive Guilde des Fromagers - credentials which basically mean the man knows a lot about cheese, and experts, gourmands, trust him to make choices for them! Over the past decade he established the critically acclaimed cheese program at New York City's Picholine Restaurant. I have dined there on more than one occasion and their lavish cheese cart is a wonder. When I saw this beautiful cheese encyclopedia last week, I bought a copy for myself, and one for a dear friend who I know will treasure it. This is an extremely useful guide which makes a wonderful addition to any cheese lover's library. Approximately 200 of the world's best cheeses are included here, with information on buying, storing, tasting, and serving. Detailed notes are provided on producers, taste and appearance, stages of ripeness and seasonal availability. The main section profiles cheeses, listed and arranged alphabetically, and includes gorgeous photographs, detailed, evocative descriptions, wine parings and a numeric rating scale. Max McCalman is also a Matre d' Hotel and Sommelier who has spent most of his career in the food and hospitality industries. He also serves as a consultant to the trade and is a lecturer and teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education, the Culinary Institute of America, New York University, the DeGustibus Chef's Tasting Series, and The New School. He has been featured on the Television Food Network, the CBS Evening News, the Cable News Network, and Martha Stewart Living Television. Highly recommended! ENJOY! JANA
From Publishers Weekly
Domestic production of quality artisanal cheeses is on the rise, and the recent opening of the Artisanal Cheese Center in New York has helped make these and traditional European farmstead cheeses even more widely available. McCalman takes credit for spearheading this American cheese revolution through his work at the New York restaurants Picholine and Artisanal. While his and Gibbons's first book, 2002's The Cheese Plate, was highly regarded by industry professionals as a practical guide to serving European-style cheese courses and selecting astute wine pairings, this new work aims to be what the Parker Guide is for wine—complete with a numeric rating scale—for would-be connoisseurs. It provides detailed notes on producers, taste and appearance, stages of ripeness and seasonal availability, as well as pairing suggestions on nearly twice as many unique and wonderful cheeses as the previous book. Unfortunately, the cheeses are arranged alphabetically rather than regionally, limiting the book's utility as a reference. Granted, Cheese does not profess to be comprehensive like Steve Jenkins's unrivaled Cheese Primer, but rather an elite selection, or cheese "Hall of Fame." In the end, it succeeds more as a beautiful glossy catalogue to the Artisanal Cheese Center than as an introductory text. (On sale Aug. 9)
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
“The best cheese lover’s guide . . . by the most passionate and knowledgeable cheese master in America.” —Eric Ripert, executive chef/co-owner, Le Bernardin
“This is a terrific guide to understanding the world's finest cheese.” —Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
“As a child in France, I watched my father savor a small piece of fine Roquefort every day. When I first met Max at Picholine restaurant, I recognized his great passion for cheese at once. He has combined this passion with a serious and extraordinary sense of the ceremony of cheese, and in doing so has taken cheese to another dimension for New York diners and now for his readers.” —Alain Sailhac, executive vice president and senior dean of studies, The French Culinary Institute
“This long-awaited book is a welcome addition to the cheese lover’s library. Filled with essential information, Cheese is a must have.” —Ihsan Gurdal, Formaggio Kitchen
“How truly delicious to have finally arrived at a time when the great pleasures of cheese are accessible to so many Americans. This enticing, refreshingly clear, and insightful book is a gem and a must-read for both the knowledge-thirsty amateur and the true connoisseur.” —Karen Waltuck, owner, and Adrian Murcia, fromager, Chanterelle restaurant
“This is definitely a book that anyone with a serious interest in cheese—both professionals and consumers—will want to own. Cheese has a wealth of helpful guidelines about how to buy, taste, and store cheese, as well as descriptions and background on the great cheeses of the world, some classics, some little known outside their own neighborhoods.” —Ari Weinzweig, author of Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating and co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
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