Cutting the Curd

Welcome to another episode of the best cheese radio show in the world, Cutting the Curd. This week – host Greg Blais is chatting with two movers and shakers in the world of cheese – Elena Santogade of Arethusa Farm & Dairy, and Lisa Hall of Saxon Creamery. Tune in and hear from both guests as they share their cheese stories. Elena explains what it’s like working with the award winning cows at Arethusa Farm & Dairy and why nothing can beat incredible milk. Later in the show, Lisa shares the Saxon Creamery story and what it’s like operating a 5th generation Wisconsin family farm. This program was sponsored by Of a Kind. “Between the weather [in winter], the climate and type of cow it really increase the butter fat and proteins in the milk so we’re able to make a very special cheese [Snow Fields] for a very limited time.” [18:00] –Lisa Hall on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What’s the deal with mozzarella? Most people have a vague understanding of the popular cheese – but there’s more to it than you think. From burrata to stracciatella – this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd is dedicated to mozzarella. New host Greg Blais welcomes Rynn Caputo of Caputo Brothers Creamery and Patrick Molinari of Eatlay to chat about the pulled curd we all love so much. Find out what people get right — and wrong — about mozarella on another great episode of the world’s best cheese radio show. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. “Mozzarella is the white zinfandel of the cheese world.” [03:00] “Our goal is to change the way mozzarella is used in this county and if I have to do it one bite at a time, i’m going to do it.” –Rynn Caputo on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ari Weinzweig knows how to run a good business. In fact, he wrote the book on running a good business — literally, and he’s this week’s guest on Cutting the Curd. From explanations of the “Twelve Natural Laws of Building a Great Business” to “Writing and Using Guiding Principles,” Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig shares eighteen different “secrets” that will help you grow and run your business in his latest book A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to Managing Ourselves. The experiences are compiled into bite size, easy to digest lessons. You can read section by section. This is a book for leaders and entrepreneurs of small companies, large companies, non-profits or anyone in any type of organization. You don’t need to be in the food business. What you do need to be feeling are growth pains. Here you can get practical help from someone who can relate to your problems. This book is written by a small-business owner from the perspective of a small-business owner, not a managerial consultant, not a professor reciting a series of “studies.” This program was sponsored by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. “Going for greatness is more work. It’s good work.” [15:00] “Negative emotion is much more contagious than positive.” [23;00] “When the numbers are better – stress is lower. When stress is lower, people do better work.” [24:00] –Ari Weinzweig on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What could be better than a cheese tour? For cheese enthusiasts – it’s worth every penny. On a travel themed episode of Cutting the Curd, Anne Saxelby and Greg Blais chat with Susan Sturman of Academie Opus Caseus and Chris George from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Learn about some cheese farm tours, cheese professional meetups and the place American cheese holds in the global cheese community. What happens when French cheesemakers meet up with American’s? What can cheese professionals learn from travel? Find out on Cutting the Curd. Today’s episode was sponsored by SPONSOR “When I was able to travel and put faces to names that I work with – everything changed for me” [13:00] –Greg Blais on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the Cheese Travel Show on Cutting the Curd! Tune in and hear from Elph Morgan at the Zingerman’s Food Tour and Rynn Caputo from Caputo Brothers Creamery. From Italy to the Midwest, find out what goes into making a great cheese travel experience and why cheese makes for such an interesting destination theme. This program was sponsored by Bonnie Plants There are three things we look for when designing tours, great product, good communication and an inviting physical space” [05:00] –Elph Morgan on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Cutting the Curd, Diane interviews Tenaya Darlington, author of DiBruno’s House of Cheese. Tenaya talks about her writing and processes, as well as how she came up with 170 great cheeses to include in the book. This program has been sponsored by Consider Bardwell Farm. Today’s music provided by The California Honeydrops. Image from DiBruno Bros. “We liked the idea of giving 1 line of personality to the cheeses, so that if you were standing around looking at this book, you could visualize the cheese in an instant.” [26:15] –Tenaya Darlington on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it look like when a small business scales up in the cheese world? This week’s episode of Cutting the Curd answers that question, as host Anne Saxleby is joined by two guests who are in the middle of that process right now. First, hear from Kari Skibbie, Sales Director of Holland’s Family Cheese and later in the show hear from Chris Roelli, Cheesemaker for Roelli Cheese Haus. Learn about everything from the cheesemaking process to small business management and get insight into what it’s like running a cheese-biz! This program was sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Photo: Holland’s Family Cheese “You name it, we’ve got it downstairs!” [15:22] –Kari Skibbie on Cutting the Curd “I was always a big believer we didn’t have to be a big company to make it in the cheese business.” [25:00] –Chris Roelli on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The cheese world is changing! Certain certification programs are evolving and there are more options than ever for aspiring cheesemongers looking to learn about the industry. With that, comes controversy. On this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd, Anne Saxelby chats with cheesemonger Greg Blais of Eataly about certification programs, their effectiveness and relevance in today’s ever-changing world of curd. They also discuss the affinage debate and the general state of cheese in America today. This program was sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board “I learned everything by working – everything I know was from putting cheese in my hands and meeting the people who sold it to me. I’ve never taken a culinary class in my life.” [02:00] –Greg Blais on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re profiling some Cheesy Kickstarters this week on Cutting the Curd! Tune in as Anne Saxleby chats with Rynn Caputo about her successful Kickstarter campaign for Caupto Brothers Creamery. The Caputo Brothers Creamery’s successful Kickstarter campaign helped them start an initiative to deliver their mozzarella curd to people’s homes. This program has been sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What’s better than beer & cheese? This week on Cutting the Curd, Anne Saxelby invites Jimmy Carbone, host of Beer Sessions Radio and Greg Blais, cheesemonger at Eataly for an on-air beer and cheese pairing and discussion! Tune in and learn how grains play into both cheese and beer – and what pairings work best. Tune in for this virtual tasting and conversation about terroir, provence and ingredients as they relate to beer and cheese. This program was sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board “I think wine and cheese get more play – but I know that beer and cheese go together better!” 15:00 “Things that come from the same place tend to go well together.” 25:00 –Greg Blais of Eataly on Cutting the CurdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.