Food & Drink
A world of tasting pleasure awaits at Fromagerie Elgin
A bite of perfection
WENDY BIRD
Fall 2008 |
Caseophile is a cheese lover. (Latin caseo for “cheese” plus the English phile for “one who loves it.”)
With little fanfare, Ecclestone opened her business, Fromagerie Elgin, late last year. She has spent the last several months delighting her customers with samples of cheeses from around the world.
“Most people are excited by what I offer,” the willowy 39-year-old says while deftly brewing a steaming cup of cappuccino.
“People have definite ideas about what they eat, however.”
It’s a fine balancing act for Ecclestone, who prides herself on offering some of the most unique cheeses Sudburians have ever seen. She is keenly aware not everyone hankers for a good chunk of Brie de Meaux or a slice of Chèvre Fin, particularly in a world that is awash in mass-produced cheeses. Yet she adores introducing and educating her customers to and about “the lovely, easy” world of cheese.
“People with the most open minds are usually the most interested in trying new cheeses,” Ecclestone notes.
“But most people who come in just like good food and want to try more of it.”
Good food, indeed. In addition to a wide selection of cheeses, including gouda from Thunder Bay’s Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, Ecclestone offers terrines, pickles, olives, mustards, preserves, crackers and a variety of other gourmet foods that perfectly complement a gourmand’s shopping basket.
She also carries Ristorante Verdicchio’s line of fine foods, including their signature olive oil, salsa picante and antipasto.
For the customer who chooses to linger, Ecclestone offers up the “ideal fast food.” She puts together cheese plates, tendering a savoury selection of “fromage,” along with baguette and crackers. She also whips up fresh lemon crepes, soothing cappuccinos and refreshing espressos. All are served on pretty tableware that is set upon rough-hewn tables that look like they belong in a farmhouse. Everything is designed for comfort and communion.
“We were thrilled to find Hazel,” commented one couple of European heritage who dropped by the shop as part of their weekly grocery-shopping trip.
“We grew up eating these kinds of cheeses. So when we found her, we were delighted to be able to take home some of the cheeses we were once so accustomed to eating.”
But not every customer knows what he or she wants when entering Ecclestone’s shop. Depending on a person’s personality or preferences Ecclestone has the following advice. If one is conservative, she recommends one try “a real brie, such as a Brie de Meaux or a good cheddar.” (A farmhouse cheddar, in particular. Farmhouse cheddar is one that is produced on one farm and had smaller yields.) “I try to introduce them to a quality that is just not available anywhere,” she says.
For someone who is more adventurous, Ecclestone introduces her customer to the cheeses made from different milk types, including cow, goat and sheep. These can include various types of milder blues and chèvres.
For the person who is a total thrill-seeker, Ecclestone recommends indulging in heartier blues and washed-rind cheeses. (These are often described as having a “barnyard aroma.”)
“They are the more challenging of cheeses,” she says. “The best ones have a complexity that makes you aware of where it all starts. You can smell and taste the pasture the animals have been eating from.”
She adds, “When the complexity is missing, you can sometimes know that maybe these animals haven’t been out to pasture or the milk has been so tampered with that the beauty, the complexity is lost. The milk has been made sterile and so is the cheese.”
Getting back to the roots of why we eat is critical for Ecclestone, who says, “In today’s culture of ‘me,’ cheese helps people to get back to the communal experience.”
Like chocolate, cheese is best shared.
