Mark Gillman paid Murray’s a visit on April 3rd to talk about Cato Corner’s sustainable farming practices, cheesemaking techniques, and their fantastic Fromage d’O'Cow, which is April’s Farmstead Cheese of the Month. Watch Taylor’s interview with Mark here, and then order Fromage d’O'Cow to taste for yourself.

In the first episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion three different types of lightly aged goat’s milk cheeses.

Chabichou	Haystack Peak	Selles-sur-Cher
Cheese Wires	Cheese Paper	Oat Walnut Crackers

In the second episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion a large wheel of Brie.

Fromage de Meaux	Brie de Nangis	Camembert
Ripe & Ready T-Shirt	Cheese Paper	Urban Oven Crackers

In the third episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion a square wheel of washed-rind Meadow Creek Grayson.

Meadow Creek Grayson	Taleggio	Epoisses
Cheese U Boot Camp	Cheese Paper	Matiz Torta Crisps

In the fourth episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion a wheel of Pecorino Ginepro.

Pecorino Ginepro	Manchego	Pyrenees Brebis
Membrillo	Marcona Almonds	Milk Made T-Shirt

In the fifth episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion an 85-pound wheel of Gruyere.

Gourmino Gruyere	Parmigiano-Reggiano	Comte
Big Cheese Apron	Parmigiano Knife	Z Crackers

In the sixth episode of Portion Control Director of Education, Taylor Cocalis, shows you the proper way to cut and portion a leaf-wrapped wheel of Valdeon.

Valdeon	Bayley Hazen Blue	Cheese Wires
Balanced & Complex T-Shirt	Bee Raw Honey	Pralus Chocolate

In the final episode of Portion Control, Director of Education Taylor Cocalis shows you how to plate your perfectly portioned cheeses and discusses the fundamentals of creating a great selection.

Pick Your Plate

by
Taylor Cocalis

Few things in life give me greater satisfaction than composing a perfect cheese plate (no judgement, please). I know you all feel it, too. It’s like solving a Sudoku puzzle or filling in a football pool . . . you have a challenge set before you and when you do it right, everything feels like it’s in the right place. So how do I go about solving the puzzle? Very systematically, as a matter of fact.

My requirements are as follows:

- Variety of Milk Types (at the very least cow, sheep, and goat are a must)
- Variety of Styles (fresh, bloomy, washed, pressed, cooked, and blue are my “go to” choices).

If you hit these key points the rest should fall into place:
- Variation of textures (soft, semi-firm, firm, hard)
- Visual variety (yes, you’ll gush over the beauty of your own cheese plate).

Other rules of thumb:
- 1 oz. per cheese per person
- 3-5 cheeses should suffice for a dinner party, but if you are die-hard and want to do an intensive class at home you can go up to 7

- When in doubt, pick Something Old, Something New, Something Stinky, Something Blue

Then simply be ready to accept the praise you’ll surely get for your stunning cheese plate.