Welcome to The StoryCheeseboard!
Where we tell the stories of society, culture, and places through cheese!
Welcome to The StoryCheeseboard!
My road to cheese was by accident. Like many people, I always loved cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks, and Domino’s Two-Times-Tuesday pizza fueled my childhood. I would have never guessed the extent to which it would transform my life. Cheese has become my source of comfort, curiosity, and inspiration. It changed the way I view the world and made my life richer from the opportunities and people it brought my way
It Started with a Bad Idea
My cheese journey started in college. While earning my undergraduate degrees in History and Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech, I took a class called American Environmental History. I loved the lesson on food and decided my final paper for the course would be on food. The resident food historian in the history department strongly advised me not to research a specific dish or ingredient— it would be too difficult, vague, and offer little historical importance. I ignored his advice. In a combination of following my heart, archival clues, and two years of research, my final paper delved into the rise in popular culture of grilled cheese sandwiches as a comfort food in the United States.
Following the Cheese
Since then cheese has only grown in importance in my life. When in doubt of what to do with my life, I follow the cheese. Cheese sent me to the Adirondacks to work as a seasonal cheesemaking intern at Nettle Meadow Artisan Cheese Farm. Cheese sent me back to school to get my masters in Food Studies at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Cheese sent me to India where I collected data for my thesis on changing cheese consumption patterns in India and among Indian immigrants in Pittsburgh. When my pandemic farm crew job came to a tragic end and I faced unemployment again, a cold email to the only cheese shop in Richmond, Virginia started a new beginning as a cheesemonger.
The Stories
Cheese is a lens through which to tell larger stories about our history, culture, environment, and so much more! Like all food, it is intensely personal. What we decide to eat or cook is an intimate balance of economics, health, beliefs, and identity formation. On this platform, I hope to bring these stories to light. Some of these stories are educational— I will explore an aspect of cheese history or the relationship a region has with cheese. Other stories will be close to my own heart as I share my evolving relationship with food, my experience and thoughts about the food system, and hopefully take you on cheese adventures with me!
Let’s Go!
Whether you have worked in cheese or the food industry for a long time or are just interested in learning more about your food, this is a welcoming, safe space for everyone! Cheese is for everyone! Whether Kraft American Processed Cheese Food is a staple in your refrigerator, or you host cheese and wine pairings regularly. Cheese is the food of the people! So wanna talk cheese and play with your food with me? Subscribe or share this page below. Comment telling me about your own cheese journey. If there is one things I know, there is always something to learn in cheese.
