by Malcolm Jolley

Juliet Harbutt is not only the author of the World Cheese Book, which is arguably the English-speaking world’s definitive reference book on the subject, she is also the founder and chief of the British Cheese Awards, which may be the world’s most vigorous. As a past cheesemonger, she also consults with supermarkets on how to bring artisan cheese into their big stores. With this in mind, Andy Shay, who is managing the cheese program at Sobey’s, asked Harbutt to curate a British cheese selection for the Canadian chain. This brought her to Toronto and an exclusive tasting at The Cookbook Store. Sue Reidl has a great account of the cheeses and the tasting at her blog Cheese and Toast, but I got a preview before the big show and in between bites of lovely fermented milk got a chance to speak with Harbutt about how we view cheese in the ‘Anglo-sphere’, her program to bring artisan cheese to supermarkets and what happens when retailers mishandle cheese… plus a surprising comment on what wines to drink with cheese. It’s all in the video below.


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GFR videos are generously sponsored by a grant from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the non-profit organization that publishes GFR. twitter.com/malcolmjolley. Photo: John Gundy.