Darien Cheese & Fine Foods store at Goodwives Shopping Center has a treat Saturday for cheese lovers — a day of sampling gourmet cheddar cheeses, one of them a cheddar made in Vermont just for the store, along with a sample of beer, house-made chutneys and grilled cheddar paninis.
The event celebrates the store’s “exclusive late summer pasture Shelburne Farms, Vt. Clothbound Cheddar” along with “Montgomery’s one-year English Farm-House Cheddar.”
The beer is Evolver IPA made by the Wild Beer Co. of Somerset, England, according to this post on the store’s page on Facebook.
Here’s the store’s news release about the tasting day:
Following their widely successful grass-roots campaign to #SaveTheEmmentaler, Darien Cheese & Fine Foods are proud to continue their passionate efforts in promoting traditionally crafted cheeses from around the world.
The proprietors of the charming store, located in the Goodwives Shopping Center, partnered with their friends at Shelburne Farms in Vermont to create an exclusive series of traditionally crafted Cheddar Cheeses. The formula for these exquisite cheddars is raw milk, traditional cultures and rennet, cloth wrapping and cellar aging.
“We pride ourselves on having the best possible cheeses in our store and sharing these with our local community. It’s hugely important that we continue to promote the traditional methods of making cheese and the impact on its authentic taste. Many cheddar makers today are using non-traditional methods and to be perfectly frank, the Cheddars do not taste like cheddar,” explained Ken Skovron, who owns the store together with his wife, Tori.
“Our friends at Shelburne Farms understood our commitment and vision – and partnered with us to create an incredible Summer Pasture cheddar cheese from their beautiful Brown Swiss cows raw milk. The end result is a rich, earthy, beefy, nutty and savory delicious cheddar. We are absolutely thrilled to debut this exclusive cheddar cheese – and judging by the social media response we’ve already received, it is going to be a huge success.”
On Saturday, Oct. 24, Ken and Tori Skovron will debut their first, exclusive Summer Pasture Cheddar in a special event to commemorate this special partnership. They will be hosting the event the entire day from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will be featuring seasonal beverages, delicious charcuterie, scrumptious local desserts and stunning handmade wares from incredible artisans.
“Our job as cheesemakers is to alter the milk as little as possible to turn it into cheese. For us that means adding as little starter culture and rennet as possible so the customers tastes only the milk from our pasture fed Brown Swiss cows. We love working with cheese shops such as Darien Cheese & Fine Foods who share our passion for traditional, hand made cheese,” said Kate Turcotte, Head Cheesemaker at Shelburne Farms.
Along with Shelburne Farm Cheddar, the Darien Cheese & Fine Foods offers Montgomery’s cheddar from Somerset, England, which is recognized by The Ark of Taste – Slow Food to be the benchmark of “Traditionally Cheddar.”
The Darien Cheese Shop was founded in 1967 by Jack Hearn and was part of a larger franchise that originated at the World Fair. At one time, the Cheese Shop had 75 different locations including Greenwich, New Canaan, Ridgefield and Westport. Since purchasing the store in 1986, the Skovrons have cultivated an extremely loyal and dedicated following in the Fairfield County area as a result of their valuable knowledge, helpful staff and wide selection of delicious cheeses and amazing fine foods from around the world. To many customers, they are known as the pioneers in the fine food boutique store world – having been the first in the area to offer a distinctive and exclusive selection of imported fresh cheeses, locally sourced foods and beautiful artisanal pieces.
About Darien Cheese & Fine Foods
Located in the Goodwives Shopping Center at 25 Old Kings Highway North in Darien, Connecticut, Darien Cheese and Fine Foods is well-known for its wide selection of delicious cheeses from around the world and their offerings of hard-to-find specialty foods like pasta, fine jams and sauces. With friendly and helpful staff ready to offer helpful advice on the various options, the Cheese Shop is the best un-known secret throughout the tri-state area. Widely quoted as an expert on the cheese industry, Ken Skovron owns and manages the store together with his wife, Tory. To learn more, please visit the store on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DarienCheeseFineFoods.