The Cheesemonger:
Anne Saxelby, purveyor, local cheese cheerleader, owner of Saxelby Cheesemongers
What She Does:
Like any good monger, Anne was pulled by an obsession—an obsession, in her case, for cheese. A college trip to Florence, Italy is to blame for ditching the degree in art and signing up for a job at Murray’s; an internship with Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut taught her the power of locally-sourced stuff, both in terms of flavor, sustainability and local economics. That’s why most of the cheese at Saxelby’s comes from American farmsteads in Vermont and New York, along with a few in the outskirts of Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana. (The only non-American cheese? Parmigiana Reggiano, since there’s only one place to get that Italian essential: Emilia-Romagna.) For an über-local spread, choose from Lively Run goat cheese (Interlaken, NY), Sprout Creek Farm raw cow’s cheese (Poughkeepsie, NY), Three Corner Field Farm pasteurized sheep’s cheese (Shushan, NY) and even fresh ricotta from Salvatore Brooklyn.
Why We Love Her:
Anne’s palate for local farmstead cheese is outstanding, and we love her even more for being a voice for local foods—in her public tastings (in-store and at restaurants like Jimmy’s No. 43), her participation in local markets (like the New Amsterdam Market) and her weekly Heritage Radio Network series, Cutting the Curd.
Where To Find Her:
You can usually find Anne (or her tasty selections) at her self-named shop in Essex Street Market at the corner of Delancey Street every Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Or find her online at saxelbycheese.com, where you can also keep track of upcoming tasting events like the real field trips appropriately called A Day A-Whey. And hey, she writes, too: Check out her piece on fermented milk at Casellula in our January-February 2009 issue!
From September 26th to October 6th Edible Manhattan, Edible East End and Edible Brooklyn — in conjunction with Edibles statewide and GrowNYC — present Eat Drink Local week, our celebration of the local food chain through heirloom vegetable auctions, wine tastings, DIY challenges, lectures, garden tours, farm to table dinners and countless other events. Over the next few weeks we’re highlighting a few of the restaurants, wine shops and wineries, breweries and beer bars, farms and food artisans and cultural institutions that the week is meant to celebrate.
