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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s 4 7 S a t u r d a y, M a y 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 TEXAS DAIRY HAS A FRIEND IN AUSTIN'S ANTONELLI'S CHEESE SHOP By Lucas Witman A specialty food shop can be a place to go to when one simply wants to stock his or her pantry or pick up a quick gift. It can be a space to browse and shop and nibble. And many of the most successful gourmet stores in the country fall under this description. However, some special- ty food shops seek to break out of this mold, becoming integral parts of the communities in which they exist. These retail spaces serve simultaneously as stores, meeting places, schools, hubs for community development and catalysts for economic growth. When John and Kendall Antonelli first envisioned what would become the Austin, Texas cheese sanctuary Antonelli's Cheese Shop, this was the kind of institution they wanted to create. "We wanted to extend the experi- ence of our shop outside the four walls of our space," said John. Today, Antonelli's Cheese Shop is the go-to place in Austin for craft cheese and other specialty goods, but husband- and-wife business owners John and Kendall have created a concept that extends far beyond this. The shop is a local gathering place for chefs and food- ies seeking out the latest artisan cheeses of the day. It is an educational vehicle, operating programs to directly teach members of the community about Texas cheese. And it is an engine of growth in Austin, helping to further the cheese industry itself, building an awareness of Texas dairy that extends beyond the state's borders and promoting economic and job growth at home. Antonelli's Cheese Shop was born out of a passion for cheese. After John left his first career as a CPA, he and Kendall spent two years educating them- selves about artisan cheese. Then, in February of 2010, the couple's dreams finally came to fruition with the opening of their eponymous shop. "I am a firm believer that if you are passionate about what you do, it's easy," said John. "It has its highs and lows, but I went searching for my passion, and cheese ultimately found me. I spent two years traveling and working and eating and interning. It ultimately led me to what I consider my strengths in life which are eating and talking and being with Kendall." Today, the centerpiece of Antonelli's Cheese Shop is the cheese, and shoppers will find a wide variety of products at the store divided into seven categories: fresh, bloomy rind/soft-ripened, washed rind, semi-soft, firm, hard and blue. The store has a particular focus on Texas cheese, promoting a number of esteemed Lone Star State dairies like Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese in Granbury, Pure Luck Farm & Dairy in Dripping Springs, Caprino Royale in Waco and The Mozzarella Company in Dallas. Among the store's non-Texas-produced offerings, John, a determined supporter of the craft of American cheesemaking and the cur- rent Treasurer for the American Cheese Society, focuses largely on bringing his customers American-made products. In addition to cheeses, there are a num- ber of other specialty products available at Antonelli's Cheese. When customers enter the 700-square-foot shop, they are immedi- ately confronted with a wall stocked with crackers, jams, honeys, mustards, duck fat and other sundries. Next to that is a meat case stocked with charcuterie, as well as an accompanying olive case. Elsewhere in the store, customers will find an artisan choco- late section, bread and even beer and wine. Particularly popular among the store's clientele are Robert Lambert jams, honeys from Red Bee Honey and Savannah Bee Company and confections from Dick Taylor Chocolate and Askinosie Chocolate. When it comes to the cheese itself, staff members at Antonelli's Cheese have a unique approach to uniting cus- tomers with the cheese for which they are most perfectly suited. "What we're selling is really an experience for us," said John. "It's really important that when you come in to this environment you have a tour guide. Every customer that comes into our shop works one-on- one with one of our cheesemongers. It's a no exception rule." By hand-selling the cheeses every time, the store's staff is able to ask important questions and steer the customer towards the product that best meets his or her needs. In addi- tion, Antonelli's cheesemongers are able to tell the customer much more about the cheeses than they could ever read on a label, helping to forge deeper connec- tions between the customer and the cheesemaker. For John, his hope is to make Antonelli's Cheese Shop a longstanding and important cog in the larger Texas cheese industry. He believes that by sup- porting one another, he as the cheese- monger can work alongside his state's accomplished cheesemakers to create a mutually sustaining regional dairy indus- try that will continue to grow into the future. "We are focused on supporting careers in cheese. That means that people we buy from and work with live near here," he said. "Texas is an amazing state for agriculture. We have so many differ- ent environments that are well-suited for different types of animals. The growth that we are seeing here with cheese is magnificent. We are able to support dif- ferent producers in different ways." "We want to be in business for at least thirty years, and we want to see these businesses be successful for thirty years. So how do we start planning for that today?" John continued. In addition to supporting American and Texas cheese by promoting job growth, Antonelli's Cheese also strives to help the regional dairy industry through education. The shop recently opened an adjacent event space, where the store's staff hold weekly classes and host private tastings and other events. One specific educational initiative Antonelli's Cheese has taken is to edu- cate local foodservice professionals on regional cheeses and to help promote Texas dairy products through Austin's bustling restaurant scene. Antonelli's cheesemongers work one-on-one with local chefs to help find cheeses for their menus. The store's staff also does private classes with restaurant front-of-house and back-of-house staff, helping to ensure that those serving the product are able to competently discuss it with restaurant guests. The fact that Antonelli's Cheese Shop is such a multifaceted enterprise with fin- gers in so many different pies is part of the store's design. For John, what excites him about cheese is the fact that this industry is so various and diverse, and he wants to be involved not just with selling cheese, but with every part of the industry. "I love cheese. I think it's so amaz- ing. I like its variety," said John. "Cheese, when you start to talk about it is really a historical product. There's a lot of tradition behind it. There's science that goes into it. There's an art to retail and cheese – an aesthetic beauty to the product. A lot of cheeses are economi- cally significant for regions. It plays an important role in people's lives. You have a physiological reaction to cheese, which is cool. When it comes to retail- ing cheese, there is psychology, there in marketing. There's so many different aspects to cheese, and that makes me happy. Why wouldn't you want to be in that industry?" MANCHEGO CHEESE PDO EDUCATES AMERICAN CONSUMERS The Manchego Cheese P.D.O held 20 tasting sessions in New York City in March to educate consumers about how to identify authentic Manchego cheese and distinguish it from American-made cheeses labeled as Manchego-type cheese. The P.D.O.'s tasting sessions took place in 10 New York central mar- kets, including Fairway Market, Whole Foods Market and Stinky Bkyln. The tasting sessions gave more than 5,000 U.S. consumers the opportunity to experience the distinctive flavor of the authentic P.D.O Manchego cheese. Along with the tastings, the P.D.O's Regulating Council provided information leaflets to teach consumers what they have to look for when selecting a P.D.O Manchego. How to identify this genuine product: Color & shape: From ivory to light brown, depending on aging. Cylindrical shape. Patterns & Lines: Braided basket weave design around the outside. Zigzag pattern on the rind of the cheese. Flat top and bottom with lines dividing the sur- face into four equal parts. Weight & Size: Maximum weight of 8.8 pounds. Maximum height and diameter of 5.5 inches and 22 8.7 inches respectively. The PDO label: Look for the Manchego Cheese P.D.O label, with its logo and serial number. The Brand label: Look for the state- ments "made of 100% Manchega ewe's milk," "Manchego" and, in cases when made with raw milk, the word "artesano." The Casein tab: A combination of five numbers and two letters, it's consid- ered as a Manchego Cheese ID number that's exclusive to every cheese. The US is one of the most apprecia- tive and growing markets for this cheese as the main destination for exports of P.D.O. Manchego cheese - according to recent 2014 figures. More than 8.4 mil- lion pounds were destined for the US market, representing almost half of the region's total exports. ARKAY BEVERAGES INTRODUCES FIRST TRUE NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER ARKAY Beverages has introduced 12 new alcohol free beers. ARKAY N/A beer collection is produced with 0 per- cent ABV while other alcohol free beer producers are offering their products with 0.5 percent ABV. Despite the time of the release ARKAY has been developing an alcohol free beer collection for quite some time in response to a gap in the market, and a lack of high quality alcohol free lager, dark, and amber beers. Marketing director Jose Jaramillo said: Over the last few years, we have increasingly been asked by ARKAY alco- hol free liquor drinkers to create a collec- tion of N/A beers. In response, we creat- ed a carbonated beer flavored soft drink, and this makes all the difference. From shift workers to designated drivers, the demand for something like N/A beer ARKAY has been there for some time, and we only expect that demand to increase substantially now that the leg- islative reform is in full effect around the world." "We have spent a lot of time to get ARKAY N/A beer collection just right, meaning that although we've taken the alcohol out, we have kept the flavor in," he continued. "Our collection will include three dark beers: Chocolate, Coffee and Licorice; four amber beers – Cinnamon, Ginger, Toffee and Bitter Sweet – and five lager beers – Natural, Tequila, Grapefruit, Bitter Lemon and Honey." If you've never heard of ARKAY beer-flavored soft drinks before, that's because this malt drink will be sold exclusively in the USA and Europe. ARKAY N/A beer is a more sophisticat- ed soda beverage that targets the urban, trendy people in their 30s. The drink looks and tastes similar to beer, but is non-alcoholic and low in calories. ARKAY N/A Beer or malted soft drink will be sold in a 12 fluid ounce glass bottle, 12 fluid ounce aluminum cans and kegs of 20, 30, 50 and 60 liters. This will be the first time ever that a N/A beer is sold on draft using proprietary ARKAY dispenser technology. ARKAY N/A beer contains 0 percent alcohol.