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PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Demystifying the World of Artisan Cheese

MASTERING CHEESE Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager

By Max McCalman and David Gibbons

Max McCalman is American's preeminent expert on Cheese. Awarded the exclusive title of Maître Fromager by France's Guilde des Fromagers, he was the first in-house Maître Fromager for an American restaurant and retains this title now for the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, where he also is the Dean of Curriculum and Director of Affinage. Max McCalman has led countless classes on the ins and outs of cheese - everything from Cheese 101, to multi-class master's seminars for burgeoning cheese professionals. In MASTERING CHEESE: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager (Clarkson Potter; November 17, 2009), he condenses his vast knowledge and expansive curriculum into a single, one-of-a-kind volume that is the ultimate master's class on cheese.

McCalman's first two incredibly popular books, The Cheese Plate and Cheese, a Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best, discussed the basics of cheese, but MASTERING CHEESE goes beyond introductory material, presenting in-depth information and details on everything from production methods and the laws that govern cheese naming, to choosing what cheese to buy at the grocery store and what wines or beers to pair with it. Organized into twenty-two distinct lessons, each lesson focuses on 8 to 15 cheeses and ends with how-to information on creating a tasting plate from the knowledge garnered, bringing the experience to delectable life. Some sample lessons include:

- Recognizing Great Cheese: How to Taste, Describe, Assess, and Judge It
- Cheese for Sale: Everything You Need to Know About Buying and Taking it Home
- Foolproof Logic and Perfect Progression: Putting Together Cheese Tastings
- Taking the World Stage: America's Artisans

Also included is an invaluable list of sources and resources, helpful charts, and an index of more than 300 cheeses to help the budding fromager along.

Incredibly accesible, MASTERING CHEESE is a must-have tool for pursuing one's passion for cheese. McCalman has imparted his unparallel expertise on every page and will have cheese lovers well on their way to true connoisseurship in no time.

About the Authors:
MAX McCALMAN is an undisputed master of cheese. He has been awarded the exclusive title of Garde et Jure by France's Guilde des Fromagers, and he was the first in-house Maître Fromager for an American restaurant. Max retains this title at Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, where he was Dean of Curriculum and Director of Affinage.

Max is a long-standing veteran of the food and hospitality industries, where he spent most of his professional life as a Maître d'Hotel and Sommelier before he developed the widely lauded cheese program at Picholine, Terrance Brennan's New York Times three-star and Michelin two-star restaurant in New York City. Max later established the critically acclaimed cheese programs at Brennan's Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro and at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center.

Max is a frequent lecturer, with appearances at the Culinary Institute of America, the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, New York University, where he regularly teaches courses. His first book, The Cheese Plate (Clarkson Potter, 2002), was nominated for both James Beard and IACP Awards for single-subject cookbooks, and Cheese, a Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best (Clarkson Potter, 2005), was winner of the 2006 James Beard Award for Best Reference Book. His third book, MASTERING CHEESE: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager (Clarkson Potter) published Nov. 17th 2009 is the ultimate master's class on cheese. Max lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, N.Y.C with his daughter, Scarlett.

DAVID GIBBONS, a freelance writer, has collaborated on many books, including The Cheese Plate and Cheese, a Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best with Max McCalman. He lives in New York City.

MASTERING CHEESE By Max McCalman and David Gibbons
Clarkson Potter
November 17, 2009, Pages: 384

Price: Hardcover, $40.00, ISBN: 978-0-307-40648-4

www.ClarksonPotter.com

 

PRESS RELEASE Logo French Food

FRENCH FOOD SPIRIT AWARDS HONORS MAX

The 2010's French Food Spirit Awards for Entrepreneurship is Awarded To the American Cheese Expert and Maître Fromager Max McCalman

New York City, January 25, 2011

This outstanding personality was selected by the international jury of the French Food Spirit Awards for his contribution to international understanding of French food culture. Mr. McCalman will be honored by the FFSA in NYC on Thursday, January 27, 2011.

The French Food Spirit Awards (FFSA), unique in France and abroad, honors the achievements of people from other countries who have performed exceptional activities that exemplify the French Food Spirit as defined in its charter: a sense of freedom, of nature, of responsibility, of enterprise, of science, and of global duty.

These awards were created by the Association of the Friends of the French Food Spirit. It is chaired by Mr Jean-René Buisson, president of the French Federation of Food and Drink Industries (ANIA), and its vice-president is Ms Cecile Bassot, managing director of Sopexa.

Since its first edition in 2003, the awards were attributed to 29 personalities from 16 different countries.

The four 2010 recipients were selected out of 175 from over 40 countries of all continents, in the fields of artistic creation, scientific and academic work, and innovation in business, all of which contribute to the understanding of French food culture and the values on which Food Spirit is founded: pleasure and conviviality, overall well-being and physical health, quality, safety, and accessibility.

Each one receives a Daum crystal personalized trophy.

Max McCalman has been designated as a Garde et Jure of the Guilde des Fromagers of St. Uguzon. He is an advocate for artisanal cheese production and a frequent guest lecturer and instructor. He also is a frequent judge in cheese competitions in the U.S. and in Europe. Max is the author of three books on cheese: "The Cheese Plate," "Cheese, a Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best" (which won a James Beard Award), and, most recently, "Mastering Cheese, Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager." Max created the legendary cheese program at New York City's Picholine Restaurant, at Artisanal Brasserie et Fromagerie, and the Artisanal Premium Cheese (APC) Center (www.artisanalcheese.com), where he held the positions of Maître Fromager, Dean of Curriculum and Affineur.

The jury 2010 is composed of 12 prominent members, all voluntary, independent and drawn from all fields of endeavor: Gerard d'Aboville, navigator and member of the City of Paris Council, Jim Bittermann, American journalist, senior correspondent for CNN, the conductor William Christie, François-Xavier Demaison, French actor, Claude Fischler, sociologist, Jean-Pierre de Launoit, president of the Fondation L'Alliance Francaise, Astrid Lulling, from Luxembourg European Parliament quaestor, the Japanese essayist and journalist, Keiko Minamitani, Sonia Poussin, photographer-director author of Africa Trek, Stanley Prusiner, American virologist and Nobel Prize in medicine, the French chemist, Hervé This and Bertrand du Vignaud, President of the World Monuments Fund Europe.

The three other recipients for 2010 are the Italian microbiologist Paola Bonfante (Science), Meryl Streep (Culture) and Ariane Daguin (Jury Special Award).

The French Food Spirit Award for Entrepreneurship is supported by Daum and CNIEL.

For more information, contact:
Jean-Pierre d'Estienne d'Orves Secretary General of the FFSA 122 rue de Rennes 75006 Paris Ph: 00 33 6 27 17 85 58

jeanpierredestiennedorves@orange.fr

www.tropheesdelespritalimentaire.com

 

PRESS RELEASE Comté USA

SCHOLARSHIP BY COMTÉ CHEESE ASSOCIATION

COMTÉ CHEESE ASSOCIATION OFFERS SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY TO FIRST-EVER CERTIFIED CHEESE PROFESSIONALS™

September 12, 2012 - The Comté Cheese Association is thrilled to announce an exciting scholarship opportunity for the American Cheese Society's first-ever Certified Cheese Professionals™ (ACS CCP™s). Cheese experts who have passed the Certified Cheese Professional™ Exam—the first of its kind in the US—have the unique opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Comté region to learn first-hand about the cheese's unique history and production, as well as to explore the region and its culture.

To apply, ACS CCP™s must fill out an entry form and answer a short essay question by December 1, 2012. The essays will be judged anonymously on the basis of knowledge and creativity by a panel of three judges, who will select the winner, including: Greg O'Neill, Board President of the American Cheese Society; Owner, Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine; Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer, Whole Foods Market, Inc.; and Max McCalman, Maître Fromager, Author & Cheese Writer.

States Jean-Louis Carbonnier, representing the Comté Cheese Association, "We are thrilled to support the ACS Certified Cheese Professional™ program, which will help elevate and support the appreciation of fine cheese in the US. Exam takers displayed commitment and passion for attaining the CCP title, and we want to honor their hard work as well as support them in their cheese journeys."

The Scholarship Entry Form and Rules and Regulations can be downloaded here.

The Certified Cheese Professional™ Exam was established by the American Cheese Society to encourage high standards of comprehensive cheese knowledge and service for professionals in all areas of the cheese world. The exam is based on the knowledge and skills required to successfully perform cheese-related tasks in jobs across the board. One hundred twenty one individuals from the US and Canada passed the first Certified Cheese Professional™ Exam, which was administered on August 1, 2012 in Raleigh, NC.

Made exclusively in the Jura Mountain region of France, Comté is an artisanal cheese with AOC (Controlled Appellation of Origin) and PDO (European Protected Denomination of Origin) designations. Each wheel of Comté reflects a unique terroir, a season of production, and centuries of cheesemaking traditions.

For further information, please contact: Nicki Sizemore Comté Cheese Association c/o Carbonnier Communications Email: trade@comte-usa.com

Follow Comté USA on Twitter: @Comte_USA
Become a fan on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ComteUSA

The Comté Cheese Association – Comité Interprofessionnel du Comté – was set up by decree on 11th June 1963. It represents all those who are involved in the production of Comté—dairy farmers, cheese-makers, affineurs—and carries out activities in all fields of interest to the trade, including research and technical issues, economics, information and communications, marketing, law and promotion of the Comté appellation, defense of local traditions and protection of the environment.

Comté Cheese Association c/o Carbonnier Communications 152 West 36th St, Ste 601, NYC 10018, t. 212 216 9671

trade@comte-usa.com

© 2015 - MAXVOL, Inc. Brooklyn, New York

Max's Calendar

September 26 Artisan Cheese and Craft Beer
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival @ Disney, FL
Maître Fromager

September 27 - 29 The Wine Room
Winter Park, FL
Maître Fromager

September 30 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

October 3 English Cheeses and Old World Wines
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival @ Disney, FL
Maître Fromager

October 7 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

October 14 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

October 17 Italy's Inimitable Cheeses and Wines
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival @ Disney, FL
Maître Fromager

October 21 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

October 28 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

October 31 Classic Cheeses and Wines of the Old World
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival @ Disney, FL
Maître Fromager

November 4 Mastering Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

November 6 Cheese, Wine, & The Mediterrannean Diet @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

November 14 The World's Magnificent Cheeses and their Wine Partners
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival @ Disney, FL
Maître Fromager

November 20 Cheese & Wine 101 @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

December 11 Pennsylvania Farm Show Cheese Contest
Harrisburg, PA
Technical Judge

December 12 Craft Beer & Cheese @ ICE
New York, NY
Maître Fromager

More to come...