In his debut book, Gordon Edgar discusses his maturation from disaffected punk
rock activist into a full-blown cheese aficionado.
Good food writing is a lot like erotica you can imagine having it without
actually getting sweaty. Eventually, however, all thoughts lead to the bedroom?
or in this case, the kitchen and that cognitive leap into action can get
messy.
In his debut book Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge, Gordon Edgar unwraps the
world of artisanal cheese for the uninitiated consumer and provides a primer on
the elements of cheese making from hormone-free milk to stomach-curdling
microbes. In the process, he reveals a culinary world composed of
back-to-the-land types, activists and traditional dairy farmers who are slowly
chewing their way through the food movement.
Cheesemonger offers a slice of life rarely seen in nonfiction: a frontline
employee entrusted to make decisions on his own behalf and for the benefit of
his customers. In a breezy, occasionally philosophical account, Edgar discusses
his maturation from disaffected punk rock activist into a full-blown cheese
aficionado. He delivers a behind-the-counter look at food-obsessed San
Francisco, where he presides over matters relating to life, politics and cheese
at the Rainbow Grocery, a worker-owned food cooperative.
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