Ihsan and Valerie own and run the Formaggio Kitchen family of stores. As is true of any folks passionate about their jobs, work intertwines throughout all aspects of their lives. Their travels – frequent and far-flung – are largely dictated by the food producers they want to meet or to revisit, by rumors of new and exciting foodstuffs and/or food conferences such as “Cheese,” the biennial Slow Food festival held in Bra, Italy. Their larder and wine cellar are stocked with favorite items they have imported or new items they are testing out. Even when on holiday, they are in direct communication with all three stores, coordinating deliveries from Europe and generally checking to make sure everything is on track. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘food gifts’
Introducing Ihsan and Valerie: Owners of Formaggio Kitchen
Posted in About Us, Cheese, Christmas, Gift Giving, Gifts & Wares, Grains, Rice, Flours & Beans, Hanukkah, Herbs, Spices, Salts & Peppers, Holiday, Jams & Preserves, Meats & Charcuterie, Olive Oil & Specialty Oils, Pasta, Staff Profiles, Wine, tagged Arraya, Bleu des Basques, Comté, food, food gifts, gift ideas, Ihsan Gurdal, rillettes, robiola, Sainte-Maure Belgique, Saveur du Maquis, Vacherin Mont d'Or, Valerie Gurdal on December 12, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Introducing Julia: Cheesemonger, Teacher and Buyer of Chocolate, Tea, Jam, Honey and Spices!
Posted in About Us, Christmas, Gift Giving, Gifts & Wares, Hanukkah, Staff Profiles, tagged Christmas, Cole's fish, Dammann Frères, food, food gifts, gift ideas, Hanukkah, La Guinelle, Mas de Bories, Mast Brothers, Mulino Marino, Ortiz, pepper, Rancho Gordo, Rogue Chocolatier, Taza on November 29, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Julia is affectionately known in the shop as “Little Red” because of her lovely red hair. She has worked at Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge for 5 years and wears many hats – from cheesemonger, to classroom instructor, to buyer of chocolate, jam, honey, spices and tea.
Julia’s interest in food began early, as a young girl growing up on a small farm in eastern Oregon. It was on the farm that she learned about food in its most basic forms – between picking blackberries and making jam with her mom and sister, fishing for trout in the backyard, caring for their 30 bantam hens, or tending her own small vegetable garden next to her mother’s much larger one. In the evenings, her parents would cook everything from braised elk, to grilled whole salmon, to freshly baked bread. (more…)
2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For Food Lovers
Posted in Christmas, Gift Giving, Hanukkah, tagged cheese club, food gifts, gift guide, gifts on November 28, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Here at the shop, we recently had a very difficult brainstorming session. The task? To narrow down our products to a few select items that would be perfect gifts for the holiday season. Our lead cheese buyer advised on the cheese, our olive oil buyer came up with the olive oil and vinegar pairing and, in the end, the list was a team effort. We tried to find something for everyone and hope you find it helpful!
For the Cheese Lover
Cheese of the Month Club – Enroll your favorite cheese devotee in our Cheese of the Month Club. They receive a monthly delivery of hand-selected artisan cheese along with full descriptions, pairing suggestions and where appropriate, recipes. Subscriptions are available for 3 months, 6 months or 1 year at the entry or connoisseur levels. (more…)





