Sample Excerpt:
Audio Tour Script for Cheese Talk, an audio tasting tour for the
NASFT 2002 Fancy Food Trade Show

0. INTRODUCTION

BILL WALLACE:

Welcome to Cheese Talk, a tasting tour featuring 12 soft and semi-hard cheeses. Just as great museums have audio tours so visitors can hear entertaining and educational information about works of art, the NASFT is offering Cheese Talk so you can sample cheeses while hearing about the cheeses' origin, taste and other fun facts.

I'm Bill Wallace, cheese aficionado and specialty food veteran, and I'll be your tour guide. In 1972 I opened the first cheese store, called The Cheese Company, in San Francisco. Since then, I've served as the Culinary Director of the Oakville Grocery, Draeger's Markets, and as Vice President of Tavolo.com. I am currently a culinary and retail consultant and a member of the Board of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Each tasting stop on this tour is marked with a number. When you see a stop that interests you, just enter the number on your Acoustiguide and press the large oval "Play" button. To cancel a selection, press the round red "C" button at the bottom, then enter a new number and press "Play" once more. You can use the small square button to pause the commentary at any time.

Bon Appetite!

14. SOMERDALE HANDMADE FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR

BILL WALLACE:

Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the world. So much so, that the night before the 1998 British Cheese Awards, more than 50 tons of gourmet Cheddar was stolen and never recovered. The next year, Cheddar rustlers hit Sydney, Australia, and swiped another 21 tons. In the U.S., Cheddar's popularity remains strong -- and not just with the criminal set.

Cheddar originated in England. The cheese you are sampling today is a Somerdale English Handmade Farmhouse Cheddar, aged at least a year. During the creation of this hormone-free Cheddar, there is a point when the liquid whey is drained off and the resulting curd is transferred to long cooling trays. It's here that the curd settles and the cheese makers cut, stack and repeatedly turn the curd by hand to ensure all the moisture is drained away. This is called "cheddaring" the curd, and it gives the cheese its distinctive texture.

Notice the Cheddar's smooth, solid, yet buttery, texture and rich color. As you taste the cheese, appreciate the sharp, salty tang and the strong, almost nutty, flavor.

Created in England's West Country, English Handmade Farmhouse Cheddar is traditionally made in a drum shape more than a foot wide and a foot high. And that light creamy, color? It's natural -- food coloring is never used to achieve it.