My three joys in life are food, travel, and reading. I daydream about these a lot, although recently I’ve tried to cut out my travel fantasies because those are useless. So, to help me not go completely stir crazy, I’ve been focusing HARD on the food and books. Since my world has shrunk to my parents’ house and the Cheese Shop (I do feel VERY lucky I can go to work every day), I’m leaning heavily on food and books as my escape from our current insane reality. When I start feeling claustrophobic in my life, I’m sure many of you relate, I think about what books I’m looking forward to or what I read last night. I think a lot about the characters, especially if I left them in some precarious spot, and I wonder where the author will take us next. I am so grateful to writers, now and always, because they are doing a job I absolutely could not AND they are going to get me through this time without my head exploding. 

Then there’s food, my other great love, and another avenue for escape. When I have an Aperol Spritz, for example, I must also have small bowls of peanuts and potato chips because that is how they were served when Brie and I had them in Italy on the shores of Lago Maggiore. It was September 2017 and we were nearing the end of our ultimate cheese adventure to the Bra Cheese Festival, a week-long festival where cheese makers, lovers, distributers, from around the world come together. It was incredible! But so was this quiet moment sitting at a table in the sun, listening to small waves lap against the beach, Aperol Spritz in hand, salty snacks nearby.

While I love reliving food memories, food can also be a good escape because it tastes so darn good, it’s distracting. Brie and I occasionally come in on Mondays when the shop is closed to get a jump on shipping for the week. When we’re done packing boxes, we like to reward ourselves with a little snack. Ha! I knew you wouldn’t believe “little.” It’s a big snack and it’s always the same: an Effie’s Oatcake or Corncake, mustard, and cheddar.  

The slight sweetness and crunch from the oatcakes, mixed with the tart mustard, and finally that sharp bite of fudgy cheddar … it’s a snack, it’s a dessert, it’s an appetizer, its delicious, and it’s nothin’ fancy! I think I’ve Pavlov’s dog-ed myself because the moment we ship the last few boxes out the door each week, I start getting very hungry for something tangy, savory, sweet, I’m drooling … wait, what were we just talking about? It was difficult even taking this snack selfie because I like NEEDED to dive in. But I managed, somehow, to be strong. For 30 seconds. Then I gobbled everything up right quick. And it was awesome. 

For the love of cheese, and distractions,

Kiri

PS. If you want to jump on our bandwagon and try this tasty oatcake-mustard-cheddar combo, shop our website for the individual items or give the gift of the Cheddar Lover Collection!