Gourmet Gatherings

Reporting back from our trip to Atlanta - The Gourmet Food show was a great success! We placed a few orders, gathered tons of information, and met SO many helpful people.

• Look for Moravian Cookies - the thinnest cookie in the world. These unique, paper thin, crispy wafers might feel delicate (and are low in fat) but they pack a flavorful punch. Made by a family run (we love that) company who immigrated to the US from Czechoslovakia, we will carry three different flavors to start, but you'll have to come in to discover which - and enjoy a taste of each of course!

• We found jellies infused with wine, mulling spices from England (think liquid apple pie), artisan made java biscuits that respect free trade and satisfy your caffeine craving, and must-have chocolates laced with wild fruit flavors whose proceeds benefit wildlife.
  
  
• Amazing Artisan Honey in an array of fancy flavors (pour over Brie or St. Andre, open a bottle of a Washington Riesling and let's talk!) Tea that blooms a flower before your eyes as it steeps and much more.
  
  
• WAIT - WHAT ABOUT CHEESE ??!! We have so many fresh, hand-made cheeses you're going to love, crave, obsess over - STAY TUNED

More pictures will be posted next week of our construction progress - but things are moving along nicely. Feel free to stop by and peek in the windows, and stop in for a bite to eat at our neighbors The Bistro on Park (fabulous salads, sandwiches and Asian slaw!) - Tell Randy at The Bistro "The Cheese Shop on Park sent you!"

Here's a handy link to our website http://www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/ check back with us for updates and information.

Please fill out the comment form below - we would love to hear from you!

When we say CHEESE, You say...

WINE !

After lots of feedback - we decided to take your advice and take the plunge. Into an aged french oak barrel of Bordeaux Wine that is (and american oak, and steel, but those who know me know... my heart goes out to Pomerol). Our current vision is to carry approximately 30 to 40 different wines for sale by the bottle. Eclectic selections that compliment our cheeses, our list will include wine that is ready to drink and ready to accompany your posh wine and cheese tasting party or a romantic picnic in the park. Please feel free to send me your favs or finds in the comment section below.



CONSTRUCTION UPDATE


The design of our space is finished ! We submitted to the city Thursday, August 15. Our thanks to everyone at The City of Winter Park Building Department who have been so helpful and patient in answering all of our questions. Our landlord is commencing their work, pouring the concrete floor is first, then on to the demising walls.

Here is our "Coming Soon" sign which should attract lots of attention.





Below is a view of the shop from across Park Avenue.




Happy September and I hope everyone had a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend!

Here's a handy link to our website: http://www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/

The Cheese Conference

Lake Champlain, Burlington, Vermont

Our Trip to the American Cheese Society (ACS) annual Cheese Conference was a great success. We attended Retail 101, 201 and various marketing and merchandising sessions and came away with fantastic information and the confidence that we are on the right path. Each specialized session was panelled by experts in the industry who are passionate about their businesses and of course passionate about cheese! We attended the welcome reception and sampled lots of local artisan cheeses. We came home armed with helpful resources and contacts to guide us through our journey of bringing the finest products to our shop and ultimately our customers. Shelburne Farms http://www.shelburnefarms.org/ was an amazing and beautiful place. Set on 1400 acres, they are super into education and it truly was the perfect setting for the event. Above is a photo of the outside of the Breeding Barn where the reception was held, and below is Alan inside the reception.

Alan at the ACS Welcome Reception at Shelburne Farms, Burlington Vermont inside the Breeding Barn

In addition to the conference, ACS holds an annual Cheese Competition. This year marks the 24th year. And the Best of show winner is: Leelanau Cheese, Aged Raclette. There were many categories and 52 pages of the judging results (there were over 1200 entries!). Some of the other categories include, Fresh Unripened Cheese, Soft Ripened Cheese, American Originals (you know - Monterey Jack, Muenster, Colby, Teleme etc.), Blue Mold Cheese, Hispanic and Portuguese Style Cheese, Feta (yum), Flavored, Smoked, Farmstead (which means the cheeses and fermented milk products are made with milk from herds on the farm where the cheeses are produced), Marinated Cheese, Cultured Mike Products (Creme Fraiche, Fromage Blanc, Plain Yogurt), Butters and Cheese Spreads. Whew and that is not even the complete list! The Cheese Shop On Park may need a bigger store!

Don't forget to check out our website which morphs a bit each week. http://www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/ Let your friends and family know if they would like to be added to The Cheese Shop On Park Blog Blast email to head on over to the website and fill out the form under "Contact Us" - We promise no personal information will ever be shared or sold.

Also - feel free to add questions, comments, suggestions or cheese requests to the blog comment section below.

Next week: The Cheese Shop On Park build-out update!

The Cheese Shop On Park

We're back from the American Cheese Society's (ACS) annual cheese conference. Armed with a wealth of information and the confidence that we are actually on the right path in our quest to open Central Florida's first gourmet cheese shop.

At the conference we tasted lots of domestic cheese -all artisan, hand made. We are learning more and more about cheese every day and the one thing that I can't wait to perpetuate in our shop is the huge difference between freshly cut, handmade cheese and the dried out, suffocated, supermarket cheese that we are all [unfortunately] used to eating.

Our location - Park Place at 329 Park Avenue North in Winter Park (hence the store name The Cheese Shop On Park). Park Place is the beautiful new building just North of Central Park. Our space is currently undergoing its landlord work. Dirt floors are awaiting concrete. Walls and a ceiling will follow and then our work will finally commence. We've picked out our beautiful hardwood floors - a natural hickory - and I will be haunting antique shops for eclectic display pieces.

Stay tuned for pix from our trip to Vermont, as well as the progress of our buildout.

We are attending a gourmet food's trade show in Atlanta next month and will hopefully be going home with oodles of yummy and fun accoutrements.

Check out our website at http://www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/ or feel free to email me with questions comments or suggestions at kirsten@thecheeseshoponpark.com

"Because life's too short for supermarket cheese!"