It all started with a few innocent tweets about a dream job :
It ended with me behind the counter serving up grilled cheese goodness at Cheesewerks, a newish grilled cheese joint on Bathurst at Wellington. My online challenger turns out to be the owner, Kevin Durkee. This is a man seriously passionate about cheese, as one should be. It is second only in the food chain to bacon.
We talked history, (his mom was a baker) goals, (having Toronto recognized as a cheese lovers’ destination) and, the obvious. I learned the four pillars of Cheesewerks are: Cheese (natch), Bread, Beer and Wine. I’m in love.
Kevin asked me if I’d ever thought of the transformative power of cheese. I hadn’t, but it is a bit of a food group superhero. Milk turns into a wide variety of cheeses (that you can enjoy standalone) and can change again, into quiche, scones, cheesecake or strawberry rhubarb cottage cheese pancakes. You see where I’m going with this. Truly, it’s a magical food.
Anyhoo, Cheesewerks isn’t alone in extolling the ooey gooey virtues of fermented dairy.
Top 5 Cheese posts from OFF THE GRID bloggers:
@dobbernation @inyourmouthto @valtorontogal @sueriedl @serdatweets
Chevre is goat cheese in French
And just in case you can’t get enough, here are Kevin’s Top 5 Did You Know fun facts:
1. Take a lot to get a little.
It takes around 10 litres of milk to make 1kg of hard cheese.
2.We’ve been doing it forever.
Canadians started making cheese between 1608 and 1610.
3. Who passed the gas?
The expansion of gas within the ripening period for Swiss cheese causes the distinctive holes.
4. We love our Cheese.
Canadians consume on average 12.7 kgs per capita each year.
5. Move over Wine.
Beer is much more aligned to be paired with Cheese. Beer is based on grain, which is often the same that is fed to milk-animals.