Taste Off!

Murray’s Cheese visits the New York Wine & Food Festival

by
Jessica Kesselman

I believe that if you bring great cheese to a party, the party will return the favor tenfold with good times. This theory held true at the Food Network New York City Food and Wine Festival “Grand Tasting” held October 11th and 12th.

Murray’s was one of almost 100 participating restaurants and vendors offering bites and beverages for a ticketed public on Pier 54. For the price of admission, a person could graze for three hours on sample dishes prepared by chefs from well known restaurants across the city, and wash it all down with a seemingly endless number of wines, spirits and cocktails. Our table sparkled with the Hudson River and a clear blue sky as a backdrop, but it was ultimately the cheese we displayed for the tasting that attracted the crowds. Guests sampled three cheeses: Young Manchego, a lactic and mildly tangy sheep’s milk cheese from Spain, Asiago Pressato, a slightly sweet and fruity semi-soft cow’s milk cheese from Italy. But our third offering, Piave Vecchio, also from Italy, was the crowd favorite, and no wonder- it’s firm, sharp and nutty, reminiscent of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It also paired richly with the Chilean Granacha served by the vendor at the table next to ours… or so I was told (wink!). The dried apricots and cherries served alongside the cheese were also quite popular. That wasn’t much of a surprise to me and my colleagues either, as all three of these cheeses are complemented by the sugars concentrated in the dried fruit.

By the end of the Grand Tasting weekend, we had given out close to 20 pounds of cheese. We were lucky to leave with the wheels we brought for the display. But we also left satisfied in a way that only a cheesemonger can be- we had managed to provide hundreds of food lovers with a taste of three delicious cheeses as part of a huge culinary event. The Grand Tasting was a grand party indeed.