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R.
Kent Torrey -
Our fearless leader, the C.E.O (Cheese Eating
Oenophile), grand fromage, or as we like to call
him, "the big cheese". After all,
he was born in the Year Of The Rat. Kent
joined The Cheese Shop in 1986 and has never looked
back. When you catch him behind the counter,
you're in for a real treat. All you ever
wanted to know about cheese and more ...
(yes, it's in his blood as he has not one, but
two parents who are teachers). Kent also
takes the show on the road to many events across
the country where he pairs cheese and wine for
a delectable tasting! |
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Michael
Burke
- General Manager & Principal Wine Buyer -
Michael has been at The Cheese Shop for all 32
years of our existence, so Michael truly has seen/tasted
it all! Truly one of the most gifted palates in
the business, I would put his palate up against
any of my Master Sommelier friends. His thoughts
on food and wine pairings are clear and sensible.
Michael is also a talented winemaker/partner in
WHITE BARN VINEYARDS, where he handcrafts artisenal
small lots of premium vineyard designated varietals.
Please see his current selections in our wine
department. Or better yet, come in and get his
opinion on what makes cheese and wine such a perfect
marriage…you may be here for a while. |
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Steffan
Schackman -
Principal Gourmet Foods Buyer – OK, Sur
Schackman (really, that’s his middle name!
What you thought he was knighted?!?!) is clearly
one of our most multidimensional staff. Resident
Chef, Computer Guru, Mr. Tool-man himself (take
a look at his extraordinary craftsmanship with
wine boxes throughout our store), and all around
CSI troubleshooter to boot! These are just some
of the many hats Steffan wears. Looking for something
new to cook at home? Ask Steffan to lead you to
some of our newest food products to make that
perfect meal. |
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Andrea
London -
Principal Cheese Buyer – With over 20 years
in the industry, Andrea clearly knows her animals
(cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo, yak, horse,
whale….OK, maybe not whale, that would take
a few extra air tanks to get…just had to
see if you were paying attention). From exotic
French triple crèmes, through complex Tuscan
truffle mixed milks, to the exciting, growing
and ever changing USA artisenal producers, Andrea
has sniffed & tasted out only the best for
our clients. Please call Andrea for her thoughts
on some of the world’s best offerings, or
that special request of a hard/elusive cheese.
And on your next visit, ask her to cut you a fresh
piece of Parmigiano Reggiano using the traditional
cutting tools! |
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Lisa
Grech –
Office Manager/Bookkeeper – A long time
employee on her second tour of duty with us, Lisa
maintains and manages the daily offices chores,
as well as trouble shooting any computer gaffs
that arise (look, I’m so old, I learned
computers in the punch card era)! She also over
sees all the currencies that come both in and
go out! The Cheese Shop has clients in all 50
states and 20 countries, and you can see the different
currencies (some no longer in use) when you visit
our store in Carmel. Do Russian Rubles circa 1961
still work?!?! |
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Lillian
Lim –
Chief architect of The Cheese Shop Web site –
Over the last several years, many of you may recall
this kinetic ball of energy serving you endless
tastes of cheeses. Though she’s not here
on a day-to-day basis, Lillian’s boundless
enthusiasm still exudes from the walls! She graciously
did a preliminary design of our web, and has been
steadily tweaking it as we get ready to join the
worldwide web community. As she gets help from
all of us during the initial stages of our web
launch and evolution, Lillian’s main focus
will be creating a fun, easy look that gives our
customers as much of a familiar and comfortable
feel as they get when visiting our store. We will
also request that she do “guest appearances”
behind the counter from time-to-time, or at some
of our off site venues. |
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Richard
"Bear" Fletcher IV-
So the next gerneration of employees has arrived...first
Christian Burke, and now Bear! (Does this mean
we're getting older?...Ugh!!) But what's so
nice about Bear is that we've known his family
longer than he's been an apple in his parents
eyes. We've had the pleasure of watching him
grow up through the years, and are truly impressed
with his wonderful composure, gentlemanly nature,
and all around kind hearted soul...and from
such a young man....Ladies take notice!!! Oh,
and we've got photos from the early years when
he helped his father and Michael make WHITEBARN
wines....his expertises was in full body piages
(the crushing of the grapes, normally with ones
feet, but hey, he was all of 6 years of age)!!
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Dustin
Airola –
The next “Spielberg”?!?! Hailing from
Angle’s Camp CA, (up in the Sierra Foothills,
a great region for big bodied Zins, Cabs, Syrahs,
and other lovely wines) Dustin is a current CSUMB
student majoring in film production. As all students
know, one learns to survive on a budget, and what
better place to get great food & drink and
stay within a budget than at The Cheese Shop!
Dustin has grown tremendously in his knowledge
of both cheeses & wines, but is still conscious
of the consumers’ bottom line: quality and
value. Ask him for some of his favorite suggestions
that won’t break the bank (and I’m
expecting him to use us as his exclusive caterer
on set of his movies)!! |
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Veronica
Heiskell –
Part of the next generation to work at The Cheese
Shop!! One of the pleasures of having an old business
is marking time’s passing by seeing the
generations of family members make their daily,
weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual pilgrimages
to The Cheese Shop. We even have a height chart
on our refrigerators of several families, including
our own! Veronica is part of a one such family
of daughters that have grown up with regular visits
to the store. After several gentle requests, we
had Veronica join us last summer during school
break. She has proven to be a wonderful part time
addition to the staff, with a polite sparkling
personality, while still maintaining her great
grades in school. |
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Mason
Sager - OK, someone has got to
be the "new-kid-on-the-block" and
Mason...tag your it! He's only had three days
under his belt, but we think you'll find this
young man (ugh, another youngster...man I must
really be getting OLD!) to be full of wonderful
food and wine suggestions to satisfy any gourmand.
And we are proud to have another "in house"
chef on premise (he's a CCA graduate). Now Mason
swears he just loves all food & drink (something
about cheap thrills and alcohol...) but he said
his expertise in the culinary area was baking....Hmmmm,
we'll test him out first, but who knows, maybe
down the road we can offer you some of his fresh
baked pasteries, breads, and dare I say croissants?!
Oo, la, la, c'est magnifique!
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Jessica
Herrera-
School teacher in training,
Jessica has promised to make sure all of her school
kids grow up healthy, smart and advocates of real
cheese, from us of course!! (Hey, I’m not
counting on Social Security being around by the
time I need it, so….) Jessica has been able
to juggle her schedule to manage her collegiate
studies along with some part time days with us.
She has learned not only what cheeses she most
enjoys, but also what combinations work with other
gourmet products we have, mixing them with some
of the many suggestions from our wonderful wine
department. |
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David
Halasz -
How does one get a job at The Cheese Shop? First,
you have to like eating and drinking! Second,
come to Carmel, sniff us out while letting some
of the staff sample you copious quantities of
delicious treats. Then while engaged in conversation
with my staff, drop a line about having just moved
to the area after leaving the East coast restaurant
scene. In short, that’s how David came to
us. Our second resident chef brings a witty, energetic
“I’m all over it” attitude that
is sheer pleasure to our customers! His insights
into the way foods meld together will make any
novice or veteran cook excited to get home and
try out his ideas. But you better hurry, ‘cuz
David likes to eat as much as he sells…wish
I had his metabolism! |
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Gary Bartram
- Since
September of '05 we've had the pleasure of Gary's
company, and know you will too! Gary's background
is wide and diverse in regards to the food &
wine business having recently finished another
go as F&B manager of the local La Playa
Hotel (high recommendations from all of us on
your next visit to Carmel)! What can we say
about Gary...nice to have a sage veteran working
with Michael and myself!! Wonderful suggestions
are his forte be it for a perfect picnic basket
full of delicious goodies, or that special gift
for your wine connisseur. And Gary knows all
the people in the restaurant scene, so if you
need that "hard-to-get" reservation....well,
it might take some doing, but he's very resourceful!!!
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