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Cheesemonger: A Life On The Wedge

by Gordon Edgar (Goodreads Author)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 240 ratings · 79 reviews

Witty and irreverent, informative and provocative, "Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge" is the highly readable story of Gordon Edgar's unlikely career as a cheesemonger at San Francisco's worker-owned Rainbow Grocery Cooperative. A former punk-rock political activist, Edgar bluffed his way into his cheese job knowing almost nothing, but quickly discovered a whole world of a...more

Paperback, 236 pages

Published February 17th 2010 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company (first published April 1st 2009)

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Jul 23, 2010 RandomAnthony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I live in Wisconsin. I don’t know much about cheese. This is a problem, a missed opportunity, because within thirty minutes’ drive are both world famous cheese stores and dairy farms. As I’ve lived in the state for thirteen years I figured the time had come to learn something about cheese and cheese culture. I hit a rural cheese store with my oldest son a couple weeks ago and took a picture of part of the case:

Intimidating, right? So much cheese…

Goddamn, I’m glad I stumbled upon Gordon Edgar’s...more I live in Wisconsin. I don’t know much about cheese. This is a problem, a missed opportunity, because within thirty minutes’ drive are both world famous cheese stores and dairy farms. As I’ve lived in the state for thirteen years I figured the time had come to learn something about cheese and cheese culture. I hit a rural cheese store with my oldest son a couple weeks ago and took a picture of part of the case:

Intimidating, right? So much cheese…

Goddamn, I’m glad I stumbled upon Gordon Edgar’s Cheesemonger . First, if you’re looking for a cheese encyclopedia, Cheesemonger is not your book. If you’re looking for the perspective of a middle-aged former punk rocker/political activist who hustled a decade of retail behind the cheese counter at a San Francisco worker-owned community supermarket, this is your book. I bet you didn’t know you were looking for the latter, but you were, really, trust me. This book reads like a cheese zine written by a guy who grew up believing heart and soul in the 80’s hardcore ethics of clarity, honesty, and treating people well. Then he got a little older and tried, mostly successfully, to live those ethics in new contexts. Cheesemonger serves as a food-oriented, professionally written Maximum Rock and Roll. Edgar is too aware of his former subculture’s failures and hypocrisies (along with the positives) to bullshit himself much. And he’s learned from a decade of working with the general public (a terrifying population if there ever was one) that cheese culture has evolved in the last twenty years with some fascinating larger societal implications inherent in the changes. Edgar has no patience for people, for example, who lived abroad and think they know everything about a country’s cheese, or the cheese highbrows who want to believe in a rustic, romantic vision of a farmer who actually might be a Christian Republican earning a hard living. But he’s also insightful on why people value stories associated with cheese histories, how the stories become marketing, and how the dairy farming world interacts with urban “foodie” (God, I hate that word) culture.

And Gordon Edgar loves and respects cheese. He talks through the science behind the cheesemaking process and the manner in which he found his way behind the cheese counter. He tackles the raw milk and rGBH issues without getting preachy or pedantic. Edgar describes the art of retail as “maintaining your self-respect without directly insulting the customers” and recommends that people put aside any cheese snob elitism (remember, he’s a former punk rocker) and eat what they like. He recommends a couple cheeses at the end of each chapter, too. Edgar uses the word “demystify” a lot; he seems to want to kick in the doors on the image of good cheese as something only the obsessed and affluent can intelligently approach. A glossary and “cheese buying guide for beginners” ends the text and serves those who wanted a more traditional approach to cheese analysis.

Not all of Edgar’s connections between cheesemongering and broader society fare well. Yes, retailers encounter the crazyass general public, but I don’t know that puts supermarket employees on the level of social workers. And he wanders a bit; this book could use more organization. Still, I dug Cheesemonger. Picture an edgier, cheese-focused Anthony Bourdain and you’ve got Edgar. I wish he had a cheese Food Network show. I’d watch. And I bought some pretty damn good goat cheese at that rural store, and maybe I’ll buy a different cheddar instead of my usual Costco block in the future. Thanks, Mr. Edgar. I feel a little less like a cheese idiot in cheese paradise after reading your book.
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Aug 19, 2012 Ashland Mystery Oregon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: culinary-narratives

A good, somewhat sarcastic read about the making of a punk rock activist, and almost incidentally, a cheesemonger. Gordon Edgar made his cheese bones in San Francisco's famous Rainbow Grocery, where he learned cheese and retail, and honed his political skill set with the knife. Edgar shows increasing discernment when it comes to cheese, and rails variously against all of its real and presumed adversaries. The discussion of distribution and distributors is particularly informative. It's clear tha...more

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Nov 23, 2010 Ciara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobio-memoir, read-in-2010

i feel a little bit weird writing about this book because i was once acquainted with the author. it's easier to write about books when i have never corresponded in a friendly way with the people who wrote them. especially since my reviews tend to be pretty harsh!

but i wouldn't say anything harsh about this book. it was legitimately pretty awesome. i like cheese, i like reading about people's experiences working in collective environments, i share many of gordon's political opinions & pet pee...more

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May 29, 2010 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been reading a lot of foodie books lately, and have decided that there are two main categories. There's a type of writing that is extra-precious, and tries really hard to romanticize eating, cooking, back-to-the-land goat raising, etc. Then there are books like this one, written by real people about their honest, unpretentious love of something. Gordon Edgar is a great antidote to foodie snobbery. Not only is Cheesemonger a funny and endearing story of an ordinary bloke's developing relatio...more

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Feb 18, 2010 John Mcnamara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great smash-up of cultures: cheese, punkers, co-operators, and the surrounding communities of foodies, labor activists, and rural-urban divide. Gordon does an incredible job of bringing these worlds into focus and sharing the lessons from each in modern day parables. As an added bonus, he offers some great descriptions of the cheeses of the day. I was fortunate enough that one of my local stores put out a wheel of parmigiano reggiano while reading this book (it turns out that cheese is the per...more

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Oct 12, 2011 nicole added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, couldnt-finish

I don't let being lactose intolerant stop me from loving cheese. I loved the idea of reading a cheese memoir and entertaining the thought of one day becoming a cheesemonger myself. (I may have gone so far as to talk business plans with Nathan. It involves a food truck. AND CHEESE)

But what I have absolutely no patience for is this -- older men who insist on referring to things that are not punk rock as punk rock.

Things that are punk rock -- punk rock bands during a particular time period.

Things t...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Aaron Curtiss rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm now a Bay Area expat, so it's at least a little bit true that my 4-star review is influenced by nostalgia and the added understanding from having lived in SF in the 1990s and 2000s. Still, the author does an nice job of bridging -- philosophically anyway -- the two seemingly separate worlds of punk rock and food coop ethos (not that they're synonymous), and grocery store Athenos. I especially enjoyed the recommendations that close out each chapter, the explorations into the nifty semantic ov...more

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Sep 06, 2011 catechism rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-and-memoir, food-related, punk-rock, nonfiction

(disclaimer: I know the author, sort of. We're not in touch anymore, but he once got me into an American Cheese Society show for reasons since lost to memory. I think I still have the pin, though, and I could probably track down the notes I took at the cheese and beer tasting I attended.)

Great mix of info about cheese, cheese culture, workers' co-ops, the retail world, and even a little about punk rock. I really enjoyed all the anecdotes about working at the co-op, and stories of the places wher...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Combining unexpected and unlikely ingredients in the kitchen may produce culinary disaster or a great dish. Gordon Edgar wrote a book about cheese and the politics of punk rock and worker-owned grocery stores. And he had the audacity to subtitle his story of being a cheese retailer "A Life on the Wedge." For those interested in learning more about cheese, especially artisanal cheese, this is a good introduction. There is a glossary; he makes all manner of cheese recommendations. The reader who c...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Helen Chung rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gordon Edgar's book will grow on you like a good mold attaches itself to cheese. I started out skeptical, wondering if Cheesemonger was going to wax on the virtues of the worker co-op, but about one-third of the way into the narrative, I was hooked. I am a natural cheese-lover who knows little about cheese varieties, their makers, and their retailers. By the end of the book, I came out wanting to try cheese outside of my comfort zone (though I'm not sure I will acquire a taste for the "furry" sh...more

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May 18, 2010 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Love the cheese suggestions at the end of each chapter! I will definitely be trying some of them out. Edgar's democratic approach to cheese was appreciated, as I worried it might be a bit of a "cheese snob" memoir.

The one negative I see is that his story got repetitive after a while; I wish there had been more anecdotes about experiences with customers, farmers, and sellers and a little less repetition about his punk background and the store's philosophy (not that they weren't interesting topic...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Canice added it · review of another edition

What a great read, by one of the Bay Area's most respected cheesemongers. Gordon Edgar tells how he went from a punk rocker of the 1980s to a worker-owner in the cheese department at the largest worker-owned cooperative in the U.S. He joined Rainbow knowing virtually nothing about cheese and tells how his interest, knowledge, and passion for the curd grew, overlapping commonalities between his increasing role in the co-op and his years in progressive politics (by way of punk). Each chapter ends...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Mairi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2012, bookclub

I love cheese. Like really, really, get-rapturous-(but-only-in-my-head-and-maybe-a-little-eyeroll-because-I-try-to-avoid-being-obnoxious) LOVE cheese. Turns out I don't know squat about it but I love it.

Gordon Edgar is the cheesemonger at San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery. This book is part memoir, part informative, completely interesting. Sometimes the parallels and segues between and from punk, politics, philosophy, and cheese were fluid; sometimes they felt a bit uneven but no sooner did I noti...more

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May 24, 2011 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sociology-culture, memoirs, food

You would think that a memoir about being the cheesemonger at San Francisco's co-op Rainbow Grocery would be all about the cheese ~ fantastic, artisinal, hand-made, locally produced, sustainable, organic, rennetless, rGBH-free CHEESE. And you'd be half right! The rest is an incredibly cohesive blend of punk-rock ideology, politics, and amateur sociocultural studies that reads somewhat like Henry Rollins-meets-Michael Pollan. Pretty much **loved** the book from beginning to end. And I learned a l...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Jay Hinman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I used to talk to this Gordon Edgar fella back when he sold records at the Maximum Rocknroll record store "Epicenter Zone" in San Francisco, around about 1991-93 or thereabouts. Very nice, talkative guy; no attitude whatsoever, and a sort of post-hippie political/peace punk vibe about him, if my memory serves. He's one of the many people of that era whom I used to regularly see at shows or in record stores whom I'd forgotten about or who left town ages ago, so a year ago I was pretty heartened t...more I used to talk to this Gordon Edgar fella back when he sold records at the Maximum Rocknroll record store "Epicenter Zone" in San Francisco, around about 1991-93 or thereabouts. Very nice, talkative guy; no attitude whatsoever, and a sort of post-hippie political/peace punk vibe about him, if my memory serves. He's one of the many people of that era whom I used to regularly see at shows or in record stores whom I'd forgotten about or who left town ages ago, so a year ago I was pretty heartened to see that the man was now a "Cheese Monger" - nay, the cheesemonger - at a local grocery co-op, and had written a book about his journey from punk rock to cheese connoisseurship. I've got some pretty esoteric, obsessive tastes of my own, you know, and figured he'd probably have a couple of good tales to spin that would fit into an offbeat sort of coming-of-age narrative.

"CHEESEMONGER: A LIFE ON THE WEDGE", his book, is, in fact and as expected, a fairly fun and none-too-challenging read. You can approach it a couple of ways, or both ways if you wish. One is a personal tale of how Edgar approaches and reconciles his world leading the cheese revolution behind the counter at Rainbow Grocery with his own ideals, values and self-image. The other is a book about great cheese; stinky, rindy, rennet-less or even red, with informative and humorous chapter endnotes that help to educate greenhorns like myself about the various "cheese genres", along with some top-shelf representative examples that one might buy. Edgar's the same sort of humble, no-nonsense, self-reflective guy I vaguely remember from twenty years ago. He's still expressing a great deal of bemusement at how much he now knows about great cheese, to the point where he's an expert flown out to speak on panels and such. At the same time, he works at a socialist grocery store full of "worker-owners" like himself, and deals on a daily basis with the type of smug, needy people a store like that often attracts, from the politically high-minded, to the lactose-intolerant, to the generally intolerant.

I'm always a little skeptical of someone in their forties who still identifies at a "punk", yet thankfully he tones this down for the most part, likely because his world has moved on to be consumed by cheese, by and large. He's also pretty well aware that his "punk morals and values" transfer only slightly to his current vocation, and therefore doesn't try to hammer out any sort of equivalence between the world of cheese dorks and politically-minded punk rockers. Edgar's quite reverent of the family farmer and the many people who get their hands dirty making cow, sheep and goat cheeses for his and other stores (and for rich people), but he also exposes a lot of the marketing BS that goes into artisanal food production and retail in 2012. He definitely has a good-cheese-for-the-people ethos that seeks to educate the masses, and yet he takes pains not to condemn the wealthy folks who generally buy the best cheeses, both at his store and at specialty cheese shops.

I was a bit surprised at how often the book repeats itself, though. The narrative is not exactly linear, and while it's extremely readable, I found myself thinking on multiple occasions that Edgar had made a point in almost the exact same words only a couple of chapters beforehand. Given this gentleman's assumed lack of writing experience, that he can string sentences together this well should be applauded, but the book at times has the feel that there's an editor looming in the background, cracking the whip and shouting, "Longer! The book needs to be longer!". All told, I had a good time reading the thing, and I took some notes for the next time I feel like I wanna blow double digits on a hunk of triple-cream artisanal cheese from a small family-run dairy or some such.(less)

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Oct 12, 2010 Pete rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

I’m not what you’d call a foodie. I do like to cook, and I’m working on getting better at it, but at the same time knowing the ins and outs of foods isn’t a passion of mine. To put it simply, I love me an Oatmeal Cream Pie that’s been sitting in the glovebox (aka Dessert Cart) for a couple days.
That said, this book is pretty entertaining for someone who isn’t already interested in cheese.
What separates this book from other food books is that Edgar, though passionate about cheese, doesn’t try to...more I’m not what you’d call a foodie. I do like to cook, and I’m working on getting better at it, but at the same time knowing the ins and outs of foods isn’t a passion of mine. To put it simply, I love me an Oatmeal Cream Pie that’s been sitting in the glovebox (aka Dessert Cart) for a couple days.
That said, this book is pretty entertaining for someone who isn’t already interested in cheese.
What separates this book from other food books is that Edgar, though passionate about cheese, doesn’t try to foist his passion on everyone else. Edgar’s cheese vocabulary is helpful. He doesn’t use a bunch of bullshit terms that have no meaning. Edgar’s realistic, unapologetic for growing up on cheap-ass cheese, and he must have taken half a dozen opportunities in this book to say that you shouldn’t waste your money on the best cheese if you’re putting it on a plate for a big gathering or preparing a meal for a large group. The strengths of the book are the writing and Edgar’s honesty. In other words, he is not interested in making cheese the new wine.
The book also has some pretty decent sections on running co-ops and the harsh reality of agribusiness as well. Definitely worthwhile if you’re any sort of manager, but also if you’re interested in the world of work in general. One could draw parallels to books like Waiter Rant in terms of dealing with some difficult people and the ways in which retail economics play into food.
The rougher sections, for me at least, were the larger geo-political portions. I think he may have some decent points about Reaganomics and our reasons for fearing French cuisine, but I was a lot more interested in the ins and outs of the cheese.
The biggest success of the book is in its desire to introduce noobs to the cheese world. Every chapter ends with specific cheese recommendations and the book ends with a brief guide on how to buy cheese. This isn’t a book for food snobs or people that think certain foods are only for people who know all about them already. Edgar can’t say it (though, without putting words in his mouth, he seems to dance around it) because these people are his bread and butter, or at least the spreadable cheese, but food insiders can be really goddamn annoying. They’re kind of like people who like a band only up to the moment in which they become popular in that they seem to like the actual product less than what the product says about them. To them, a food becoming popular is a bad thing. A club just isn’t a club if you can’t turn people away at the door.
After reading this book I was motivated to try a couple cheeses he recommended. I should point out that I don’t live anywhere near a cheese shop or even a Whole Foods, so these were purchased at the tiny salad-bar-cheese-counter-conversion thing at King Soopers. To recap: a know-nothing purchasing cheese from a place that probably spends more time deciding what goes in the Halloween aisle than the cheese case. So take it all with a grain of salt. The size of a meteor.
The first was Parmigiano Reggiano. This cheese comes up over and over in the book because it’s reasonably priced, hard to mess up, and because there is honestly a world of difference between the wedge of cheese I bought and the dust that comes in the green can. Don’t get me wrong, this is not me swearing off the green can. But the cheese is pretty damn good plain, and maybe it’s not the best use of good cheese, but try it as the cheese for your next Alfredo sauce. I wasn’t an Alfredo fan until I tried it with Parmigiano Reggiano. The flavor of the cheese is tempered a little by the cooking, I think, but the Alfredo has an actual taste besides salty milk, and the sauce had some stick to it instead of being so watery.
The second cheese I tried was Taleggio. The book said that it’s somewhat of a beginner in terms of stinky cheese. And stinky it was. The smell was…unpleasant. Biological. Foot-y. But I cut a piece off and ate it anyway. This is one of the few food experiences I can think of where the smell of the food was somewhat distant from the taste. It was like a horror movie where the trailer is scary as hell, but then you sit down and the overall feeling is much milder.
Taleggio, I’m afraid, won’t be finding its way into my regular rotation. The softness combined with the stink was a little, um, advanced for my liking. The texture was a little like a rubbery cream cheese. I know, really appetizing. But hey, as an adult you really never have to eat new things. When you’re a kid, you’re eating new crap all the time. You hate it half the time, maybe because it’s infused with the bitterness you feel towards your parents for making you eat it, but there’s something to be said for trying a new food variety once in a while, no?
If you are interested in food, or at least want to take a second look at that cheese case when you go to the grocery store, give Cheesemonger a shot. Hell, it’s a good read either way.

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Feb 11, 2010 Susan H. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir

"I know it's my contrary nature, but when I think of 'artisinal production,' I think of feudal muck and lack of sanitation a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I am definitely not saying that pasteurization makes superior cheese, but fetishizing the traditional has its drawbacks, too."

What's not to love about this book? It's about cheese, sure-- but it's also about urban living and rural farming; food culture and grueling retail work; punk history and the ever-lingering after-effects of Ronald...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Lani rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even though I don't eat cheese I wanted to read this book because I have seen the author around a lot in the bay area over the years. I learned a lot about cheese and some co-op history of the bay I didn't know previously. Gordon worked hard to weave his personal politics into the book as well. I very much appreciated this since I mostly share them, and think it was a great way to reach people who are cheese enthusiasts but maybe not politically active. The only reason it gets 4 stars instead of...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Nila rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pretty good book!

It's partly about cheese, but it's mostly about punk. About being a punk teenager, and about what punk means to him now. It's also a bit about Reaganomics and the craft of cheesemaking and small farms and working in a collective and the oddity of the natural foods business -- the way customers and purveyors are a mix of snobby foodies and back-to-basics types.

The author writes well and fluidly and lightly. It's an amuse bouche of a book. I hope he writes more.

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Feb 11, 2012 g-na rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food-and-nutrition, san-francisco, memoirs-and-biographies

Non-fiction about the life and times of a cheese merchant who just happens to work at the local co-op grocery store where I shop. The author talks a bit about himself, a bit about the unique store where he works, and a lot about all the different facets of cheese and the cheese industry. Recommended for people interested in cheesy goodness.

Note: I did feel the need to go out and buy some of his recommended cheeses as I was reading this :)

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May 08, 2012 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brilliant writing, hilarious, and not pretentious at all. A former punk becomes a knowledgable cheesemonger in San Fran. I loved it because there's a respect for the product, a love for the product, but not a worship of the product. "It's just food, eat what you like" is a constant refrain and, although he loves cheese and knows more than just about anyone about it...he still thinks it's a little silly.

A fantastic read. 5 stars.

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Jun 05, 2010 Liz S. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, non-fiction

More like 3.5 stars, but I rounded up. The organization is a little muddled and the connections between cheese and punk rock politics that he wants to make can be tenuous at best (e.g., cultures vs. culture, get it?), but what the hell, I really liked his down-to-earth attitude toward cheese and food and farm politics, and the cheese suggestions at the end of every chapter are great.

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Sep 11, 2012 Kate McCarthy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved Gordon Edgar's personal cheese memoirs, my favorite parts of the book. I was excited to read my local cheesemonger's own book, especially with our shared NorCal punk rock past. It was an entertaining, meandering narrative with lots of loosely connected tangents. Overall a fun read; had me at times both drooling, and laughing out loud. I learned a lot about cheese, and I kept a list of cheeses to try while reading it.

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Sep 16, 2011 Susan Vitale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food

We read this as the kick-off book for the new Park Road Books Food Lit Book Club
I can't call him an activist turned cheesemonger only because he still is an activist to a degree. Great info on cheeses. I found the Humboldt Fog he recommended in a local natural foods store and served it at the book club - both the book and the cheese were big hits.

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Sep 12, 2010 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I almost put this book down after the first chapter or two: I felt like the author was posturing, and was preparing for another 'life in the trenches of the food world' memoir. Which, it sort of is. But I'm glad I kept going. The author wound up being more likable than I expected he would be after the first 20 pages. And in the end, I got a ton of new perspectives on cheese and the retail-grocery world in general, some good philosophical POVs about the morality as it intersects with our modern f...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best parts of "Cheesemonger" were about cheese. The best in cheese. I think the most frequently mentioned cheese in the book is "Taleggio." At the end of each chapter, he highlights some cheeses -- some of my favorites are in the book, too, like Ocooch Mountain and Pleasant Ridge Reserve. I failed, however, to grasp the significance of how the author's existence as a punk anarchist in the '80s had anything to do with cheese and I kept wishing he would stop bringing it up, at least, without e...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Travis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food

Nice balance between the details and fancy elements of cheese and and nice primer for those us that just like cheese and would like to expand our horizons.

Good mix of facts and stories of working in customer service.

Though, you could make a drinking game out of how many times he says the word 'punk'.

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Sep 22, 2010 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, biography, essays, food

Do you like cheese? Do you love cheese? Do you want to learn more about it? Have you secretly envied the professionals who sell or make cheese, and have you ever fantasized about running away to join the cheese farm? I know you have.

While Gordon Edgar doesn't actually make cheese himself, he knows people who do and he is a professional cheesemonger. This is his informed, opinionated, sometimes repetitive (How many times can punk rock be linked to cheese? Many more than you'd think.) but overall...more

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May 13, 2010 Happyreader rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: food-and-drink, history-politics, progressive-thinking

3 ½ stars. I liked this book. The author is very personable and has some fun stories about cheese, farmers, the cows, goats, and sheep and cheesemaking, and the Rainbow Cooperative and their customers in San Francisco. The author definitely has a love for the cheese business. Yet towards the end I found myself skimming. The book became too repetitive and could have benefited from a good editor. Worth a read, especially if you want to learn the basics of cheese production and about some good Amer...more

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Aug 15, 2010 jainabee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: useful

Full disclosure: I am a frequent customer and longtime fan of the author, and yes, I've been to his parties, so you might think I'm biased. A bit, yeah. However…

The confluence of seemingly disparate themes in this book blows my little mind. It's like the cheese he describes a company making when they had to use up a bunch of milk real fast and blended cow's and goat's milk, crossed their fingers, and produced a damn fine cheese. It's totally punk rock, but years of practice and learning and expe...more

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About Gordon Edgar

Gordon Edgar loves cheese and worker-owned co-ops, and has been combining both of these infatuations as a cheesemonger at Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in San Francisco for more than 15 years. Edgar has been a judge at cheese competitions, a board member for the California Artisan Cheese Guild, and, since 2002, has blogged at www.gordonzola.net. Surrounded by his vast and decaying collection of zine...more

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