Amy Worrell
Cheesemonger, Cavalier Produce, a produce distributor to restaurants
What is the most important thing to keep in mind when creating a cheese plate?
To me, the most important thing on a plate is to have fun and make it a good experience. My favorite cheese board is with all the same milk — sheep, cow, goat or mixed-milk cheeses — in various stages such as bloomy, semisoft and hard.
What producers excite you right now?
I love speaking with my local makers to see what they are coming up with. Sometimes it can be a collaboration where you have a cheese available for a limited time, which makes things fun for both parties. Some fun stuff will be coming out of Caromont Farm. Some cheeses I love are washed Bufarolo, Noah’s Arcade from Twenty Paces and The MoonRabbit from Deer Creek, but I am always on the lookout for something new.
What restaurants do you work with that are really embracing the cheese plate or cheese course?
Laura Lee’s does an amazing job; Haywood’s and TAPS at The Georges in Lexington; Les Cochons d’Or in Bath County; Elation Brewing in Norfolk. —Stephanie Ganz
Julia Battaglini
Owner of Secco Wine Bar in The Fan
How did you get into wine?
When I moved to RVA from D.C. after an aborted career in politics, I took a job as a part-time wine assistant at Ellwood Thompson’s. I was terrified, so I studied — a lot. And drank — a lot.
My mentors, Dani and Tom, eventually left for grad school, and the powers that be put me in charge of the department. In those days, Ellwood’s was kind of a lawless, wild, Wild West, and they let me do whatever I wanted. I decided I was qualified to open my own wine shop at the ripe old age of 28, River City Cellars Wine & Gourmet. Then in 2010, I opened Secco Wine Bar next door. I’ve been in the wine biz for half my lifetime.
What’s one thing that would surprise most people about being in the wine business?
We drink even more than you think. But really, the endless spreadsheets. So. Many. Spreadsheets.
What excites you in the world of wine recently?
Lots of properties converting/certifying to organic; people going back to heirloom varieties and old-school production methods; treating the land with respect and honor; young vignerons taking up the mantle; and customers trusting wine staff. I will never bore of this glorious topic. —Laura Sant
John Ernst
Owner of Curds and Whey RVA, homemade New York-style Italian foods sold at The Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s and online
What was it like learning to make mozzarella, and how did you get into it?
I worked in an Italian pork store where the owners were from Bari, Italy. It took time and hard work until I was entrusted with their secret recipes. Making mozzarella requires an intuitive feel for the proper consistency. Finding the correct balance between salt, texture and creaminess makes the process a bit challenging to learn.
Do you have any tips for making mozzarella at home?
Give yourself plenty of room to allow for manipulating the curd in boiling water and dividing the cheese into portions. The rest is patience and practice.
What makes Curds and Whey’s mozzarella special?
Like all of my other Italian specialties, I am still using the recipes that I learned 40 years ago, and thankfully my food has been well received. As food service director at St. Christopher’s School for 10 years, I was privileged to share my skills with a large group of students, faculty and staff. My mother-in-law was also generous in teaching me her extraordinary cooking skills.
What is your favorite way to enjoy fresh mozzarella?
The simplest – warm, right out of the pot. —SG
Joshua James Franklin
Certified Cheese Professional and co-owner of Cardinal State Butchers in Bon Air
What is It like to prepare for the Certified Cheese Professional exam?
Grueling, confusing, jampacked with facts that you convince yourself you know and then immediately forget. I used a 4-inch stack of flash cards and crammed with anyone who would entertain me, read through countless books and joined online groups of other mongers who were studying.
What is the most important thing to keep in mind when pairing cheese with wine/beer/spirits?
There are no rules at all, ever, ever, ever. Your palate is the best because it is yours, and you know what you like and don’t like.
What local producers excite you right now?
I love Caromont, Twenty Paces and Meadow Creek. These producers help Virginia stay on the map as a state that is pushing out new, thoughtful and incredible cheeses.
Do you have any tips for buying or storing cheese?
Befriend a cheesemonger. [They’ll school] you on cheeses that are ripe, tell you what makes them ripe, talk about who makes them ripe, and hopefully by the end of it, you’ll be transported to some dream state. —SG
Lyne & Randall Doetzer
Owners of Adarra, the Basque-inspired restaurant in Jackson Ward
What makes a good sommelier?
Randy: Listening more than you’re talking. Our job is not to sell you the wine that we want to sell you. Our job is to be able to make sure that you’re getting the wine that you want. We ask questions. I want you to feel comfortable regardless of whether you’re trying some ridiculous bottle of wine I have here that’s in the deep end of the interest pool or something that’s a little bit more clean-cut.
How do you choose wines for Adarra?
Lyne: Wine with zero additives. If they don’t fit that paradigm, we won’t entertain it for our program.
Randy: We’re trying to find wines that really meet up with what we’re doing [with the food]. And it’s always going to be low- to no-intervention wine.
What are you into drinking right now?
Randy: I think all the most interesting wines right now are whites, oranges and rosés. I think it’s just my personal preference, but I also just think it goes with food a lot better. Especially with the food that I like to eat and cook.
Lyne: For me it’s sparkling. Always. Every-one thinks sparkling is only meant to be a celebratory, savored thing — hell, no. Drink it. You’re alive another day on the planet. —LS
Maggie Bradshaw
Owner of the Truckle Cheesemongers pop-up and a forthcoming brick-and-mortar shop in Scott’s Addition
As both a maker and a monger, how do you balance the two?
Making and selling a variety of products keeps things interesting. I adjust my beer cheese recipe depending on the type of beer I use, so it’s not just cranking out batches of the same thing over and over. I’m always bringing in new cheeses, which provides an opportunity to constantly learn and taste new things.
Why do you make beer cheese?
I grew up in Kentucky, where it’s a staple. After a girls’ trip a few years ago reignited my love of beer cheese, I decided to make it with Virginia beer and great ingredients.
What are a few of your favorite cheeses right now?
I have dreams about the sheepy, mouthwatering punch of Roquefort Carles AOP. I also love Brie du Pommier. It’s on the funkier, more authentic side of the world of brie and boasts big broccoli, cauliflower notes. Shelburne Farms 3-Year [cheddar] is raw milk, bright, grassy and has the perfect amount of bite. —SG
