La Cave. (Industry Spotlight).

NAME: Max McCalman

HOME: New York City 

OCCUPATION: Maitre Fromager at restaurants Picholine and Artisanal in New York City.

MOST VIVID FOOD AND WINE MEMORY: here was a cheese that I was having difficulty finding a match for because the cheese was so challenging and almost "mean." It was a real Cabrales, one that's made from cows', sheeps', and goats' milk, not the Cabrales that comes wrapped in leaves. Through the years I've had patrons who wanted to impress their dates by exposing them to this most "macho" of cheeses. They would then turn to me for a wine pairing suggestion, and I really didn't have much success in my recommendations. That was until I decided to venture to the other side of the Iberian Peninsula and found a Pedro Ximenez sherry that tasted like ground prunes in flavor with almost the same texture. That sherry stood up to that Cabrales and matched it one-on-one. Cheese almost always demands more from its wine partner, and this is especially the case with a true Cabrales.

MOTTO BY WHICH I WORK: I don't take pairing cheese and wine lightly -- it deserves serious contemplation.

IF I WEREN'T INVOLVED IN FOOD: That's tough -- I'm just so deep in it. I do enjoy lecturing, teaching, and writing about cheese -- I think this is part of my broader mission to rescue cheese.

HANDLING A RESPECTABLE CHEESE BOARD IN NOT one, but two, nationally acclaimed restaurants would be a challenge for most maitre fromagers, but it's one that Max McCalman seems to take in stride. As "cheese master" for both the Picholine and Artisanal restaurants in New York City, Max works with his first food love and rightfully gives cheese the care and nurturing it deserves; in fact, he started in the industry as both a maitre d' and sommelier -- two venerable professions that lend themselves well to the appreciation of cheese's many nuances and to expertise in the graceful serving of cheese.

Because of the wider variety and availability of handcrafted varieties, as well as a deeper understanding of both its culture and history, the public has gained a heightened awareness of the many facets of cheese, Max's enduring passion. Max has not only been able to educate diners, but he has also taken the cheese program in both Picholine and Artisanal to the next level. But his efforts haven't been without growing pains: "With Picholine's cheese cave, we felt we had ample room for what we planned on serving initially. We were okay for the first six months, but then our cheese program boomed dramatically -- to the point that we needed more storage space. This is, in large part, what prompted the development of a custom-designed, multi-compartment cheese cave at Artisanal that has five times the space as Picholine's. And although the storage capacity at Artisanal is fairly large, Chef Terrance Brennan's next venture at Picholine will offer about twenty times the space than what is available at Artisanal."

Whether through his exceptional cheese service, his well-received book on cheese, or the classes he conducts at New School University in Manhattan, Max McCalman eagerly opens our eyes and palates to world-class cheeses.

How did your love affair with cheese begin? Cheese was my first favorite food as a child -- most of my earliest and fondest memories involving food were that of cheese. But I really began to look seriously at the relationship of cheese and wine in the early eighties. I attended a wine tasting event that was sponsored by a group of French importers. The pairings they offered were really exquisite. At that point in my career, I knew a fair amount about wine, but I didn't know much about cheese. I just knew that I liked it. What I had read up until then about wine and cheese pairing was wildly divergent, and I found it hard to trust so many different wine and cheese pairing recommendations. So, I approached the subject by looking at what seemed to make the most sense to me. I looked at the terroir of both the wineries and dairies that the products came from. I would then try wines and cheeses from a region that might make sense -- noticing at times that the soil makeup for both the wine and cheese were designed to complement each other. However, dairies and wineries are not usually located on the same soil, so this theory didn't always hold true. I did look for similar qualities between the two, though, which gave me a point from which to start.

What were your first experiences in the Food and Beverage Industry? I spent quite a bit of my time early on as a maitre d'/ sommelier. In the past, these two jobs were often run concomitantly. Writing wine lists was a fun part of my job, and I've always believed in diversity. Instead of having 25% of a list devoted to California Chardonnay, for example, I liked to spread a variety of different wines around because I think it's easier to satisfy a range of palates that way. Offering diversity is the way I also approached cheese later on when I started at Picholine. Picholine is French Mediterranean inspired, but we do use ingredients from other areas and a part of this inspiration does come from far-flung points of the globe. But inherently, the restaurant is French Mediterranean, and some of the most successful cheeses come from there, particularly the western region. This is partly what started to drive our cheese program, and of course, we found some stunning artisanal cheeses from there and, happily, our s earch is still ongoing.

When did you approach cheese as a potential career option? As an occupation, I started tasting cheeses about eight years ago. This is when I really started to take note. At first I would rely on hunches as to what to pair with what. But people were looking to me for some serious recommendations, and the synergy for the pairings that I was coming up with wasn't always there. I started to record cheese and wine pairings on little scraps of paper and eventually transferred them Onto my computer hard drive. I'd then print out those notes and keep them in my pocket to study as I went about my day. From here, I started to build on my pairing information. For example, I'd start thinking about a Sauvignon Blanc and would list various cheeses that would go well with it, making sure to include the specific vineyard or producer of the wine, the vintage of the wine, and sometimes, the alcohol content of the wine. The lists started to grow exponentially and I would see trends starting to happen -- statistical backing for potential and successful pairings. Knowing that everyone's palate is different and that this process is supposed to be fun, too, I would taste wines and cheeses with others whose palates I trusted. We'd compare notes and then blend our findings. Usually, we'd find a lot of harmony between our findings and would then start to make recommendations based on our mutual discoveries. I also started to talk to diners that expressed a fondness for specific cheeses or a group of cheeses. They usually would want me to recommend one wine to accompany an array of cheeses. Realizing that each cheese might merit its own wine, I was sometimes challenged to determine which one wine would go well with all of them. I would then base my choices on like similarities in the cheeses. And luckily, I could always look back to my cheese-driven catalog and search for matches there.

Do you find that your diners are a bit more educated about cheese these days? Much more so, yes. Not long after our cheese program at Picholine started, it became a destination for cheese lovers. There are quite a few well-traveled diners who have taught me a thing or two about cheese. On large part what drove my cheese menu initially was the clientele. I remember that as little as eight years ago, some of the cheeses that we were seeing coming into the United States were sub par. Although they were better than most supermarket cheeses or standard industrialized type cheeses, they were still not what they should have been. Since I had experienced better cheeses throughout Europe, I knew the potential for bringing these to the U.S. was there. I think that the volume of cheese buying at that time didn't quite justify the insurance of a steady supply of stellar specialty cheeses. But I have seen the palates of diners become much more sophisticated, and these diners usually seek us out, knowing that we pride ours elves in making sure that what we offer are the best cheeses in their class. The volume of cheese consumption has soared per capita in the United States just in the past ten years. Various reports indicate estimations anywhere from 30 -- 50% with most of this consumption happening within the past five years. Seeing these numbers grow, it has become apparent that the palate of those in America is much more discerning -- they know how to spot a good cheese and can certainly separate out those that are inferior. As far as cheese programs go in restaurants these days, they seem to be improving, but it's just baby steps at this point -- we have a long way to go. I'm surprised more restaurants aren't offering cheese programs like we do at Picholine and Artisanal. There are a few done well here in New York. But it always surprises me when it's not done better here. A lot of the cheese boards that I see aren't done particularly well -- they're actually pretty disappointing. Their portion size is askew, presentation i s cold, and the cheeses themselves aren't very happy. Florida is starting to show a cheese appetite, but I suspect what's driving that wave is all of the transplanted New Yorkers who have an appreciation for the better cheeses. It's a shame, but many of those offering cheese don't know anything about what they have -- there is no education of the staff that's doing the serving. It makes it a hard sell if you don't have any idea about what you're selling. Many waiters shy away from the cheeses altogether. Sometimes it's just that they don't want to wait for a table to turn if the diners are going to linger over cheeses. Cheeses don't cost as much on the menu. By itself, it is not a moneymaker. It's kind of a lost leader when you factor in the cost of the cheese, which can be considerably high, along with the salaries of those taking care of the cheeses. But I have a good example of how cheeses paired with just the right wine can make all the difference in the world. Recently a party of four in one of our resta urants wanted to try a few different cheeses. I usually serve one and one-half ounces per portion. They then asked for some wine to go with the cheese and ordered a half bottle of Chateau D'Yquem. So for $495.00 and an extra twenty minutes of my time... well, it was lovely to see. People are starting to realize that a nice port or Madeira, or perhaps a sweeter sherry, might actually complement their cheese selection over a dry, stout bottle of Bordeaux.

Tell us a little about cheese service at Picholine. Cheese service usually starts in earnest around 6:30 in the evening, and once it starts, it doesn't stop -- it's table to table to table all night long. It's a steady and constant cheese service that will not end until close to midnight. Then it's time to break down and properly store the cheeses in the cave. I usually have eighty different cheeses in the cave. Our wholesale cost for the cheeses is usually around $6000.00, and I can easily go through this in a month. We probably go through 'a ton of cheese in one month alone.

What other projects do you have on your plate besides your daily commitments to Picholine and Artisanal? David Gibbons, who worked on The Cheese Plate with me, and I are in the process of fine-tuning a second book proposal for our publisher. I also have speaking engagements scheduled throughout the month for places like The New England Dairy Council in Boston. I do take some time to teach about cheese at New School University, too. So it seems like I'm always preparing notes and information for one event or another.

Do you have any cheeses that you prefer over others? I like the aged mountain cheeses -- it's probably my favorite category of cheese. I also like the more coastal or island cheeses like those of Menorca, the northernmost of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean off the eastern' coast of Spain. I also really enjoy the soft monastery cheeses of Iberia and the British farmhouse cheeses that have so much soul.