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Appetite is throwing a feta for Cheese Lovers Day!

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Posted: 19.Jan.2018 Author: Ornella Kolle

National Cheese Lovers Day

Saturday 20 January

3.00pm - 6.00pm

Appetite, East Village, E20  

 

 

On January 20th, it is National Cheese Lovers Day – A fun excuse to celebrate fromage and a gouda excuse to eat dairy.

For some cheese gourmets, the world ‘love’ simply doesn’t go far enough and therefore we have decided to give Cheese a moment of true celebration. Appetite will open its doors to the public with an array of cheeses to taste on Saturday 20th January 2018. The lovely people at Appetite will share all their secrets with you; they can give you top tips for your charcuterie board, cooking tips or the best cheese and wine pairing. Join the expert cheesemonger at Appetite from 3 pm. And if this was not enough, get 10% off on any cheese purchase above £15 from 3 pm to 6 pm on the day.  

Share your favourite cheese with us using #mye20 #NationalCheeseLoversDay. 

We interviewed Cosimo at Appetite and found out who the three men are behind Appetite, their thoughts around English delicacies, their favourite cheeses and for more insight, read below. 

 

Behind Appetite, there are three different people, could you introduce yourself.

Gary is the butcher at Appetite, Matteo, my brother and I (Cosimo) specialise in the cheese and charcuteries delicacies. 

 

Before you guys decided to open your very own Butchery, what were you up to?

Gary was always working as a butcher. I worked in hospitality, I was a bartender, a waiter and spent time working in kitchens. My brother, Matteo, moved to London a while ago and shuffled around working in a cheese and meat wholesale company, a sausage factory and worked in pubs and kitchens. 

 

What do you love about what you do?

The whole concept of having your own business is something that had been on our minds for a while. I love everything about what we do, from choosing products we truly value to bringing our products’ stories to life for our consumers. 

 

How are you getting on with the English delicacies?

We didn’t want Appetite to only be about Italian delicacies. Our selection ranges from French cheeses to Italian charcuterie and English delicacies. We have noticed that things like scotch eggs, pies and sausage rolls are the most popular amongst all the delicacies we sell. And while people think that English delicacies mean fish & chips, the reality is that it is a lot richer than what you think. We and the public have so much to learn about this culinary culture.

 

What are the things that you are missing the most from home?

Aside from a warm summer, there is not much to miss from home. We sell the food we should be missing and we are lucky that our friends and family visit us regularly.

 

You have a wide range of products, from meat to cheese and other continental goods, how do you choose what you’ll be selling?

We have a passion for the products we sell. There is nothing that we sell to our customer that we don’t appreciate ourselves. There are two factors that dictate what we are selling here at Appetite: personal taste and quality. We put an emphasis on selling high-quality products to our customers, as well as products we personally enjoy. It’s easier to talk about a product and tell a story when you love what you are selling.

 

Could you tell us more about your cheese selection and their country of origin?

All our cheeses are from both sides of the Alps – whether it is the French, Swiss or Italian borders. There is a huge range of cheeses from those areas. 

Biella, for example, is the city where I grew up as a kid. I remember meeting cheese producers and learning how they were making cheese. They practice ‘’Transumanza’’ it is the traditional twice-yearly migration of sheep and cows from the highlands to the lowlands, and vice versa, you see all the farmers moving downhill with their cows and you can hear cowbells which feels very traditional and homely.

 

What is your favourite cheese and why?

It’s hard to pick. Taste-wise, I love Brie, Comte, all the Toma cheeses, I love Fontina and Pecorino cheeses. We love a variety of cheeses. I have an emotional link with Fontina, it reminds me of my grandmother, she used to feed me up with it as a kid and every time I eat it, it brings back memories.

It’s hard to pick one cheese, as they are so many different cheeses, it’s not an easy question. Even though customers are always asking me what is my favourite cheese, it’s always hard to answer. But if I had to give an answer, I will probably say that I like semi-soft cheeses although, there are hard cheeses that are phenomenal. 

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