A Report from Bra, Italy

A few weeks ago, my close friend and colleague, Paul Sorgule, suggested I add this deeply personal report about experiences a group of us shared in September 2001. At the end of the article is a link to a 2007 YouTube interview about my book on American artisan cheese. While much has changed over the past nineteen years, so much is still relevant today.

Slow Food International Cheese ’01

Jeff Roberts. Co-chair Artisan Cheeses of America. Slow Food Vermont & New Hampshire

Eighty-five artisan cheeses made by fifty-two producers from seventeen states represented the United States in the world’s largest cheese show, organized by Slow Food International. Cheese ’01 presented the largest grouping of American artisan cheeses ever displayed in Europe. How would we describe Artisan Cheeses of America at Cheese 2001 in Bra, Italy? Awesome, touching, lots of hard work, and immensely rewarding.

The September 11th bombings almost took the wind out of our sails. Gregory McClarren (Slow Food High Desert Oregon and co-chair of the event), Patrick Martins (president Slow Food USA), and I debated about whether we should participate, talked with both cheesemakers and Slow Food folks around the country, and received further information from the US Embassy in Rome. In the end, we decided the best way to honor America was to go forward.

After making the decision on Wednesday, the 12th, little we did know what the next twelve days would entail. In addition to riding an emotional rollercoaster, we found ourselves confronting unimaginable logistical challenges that literally changed from minute to minute. For example: What happened to the cheeses shipped on Monday, the 10th (most arrived in Boston the next morning!)? Would any planes fly? When they did fly, could we get cargo aboard? How much would all this cost us? Would we be in any danger? Could everyone get to Italy, if they still wanted to go? Would Logan Airport reopen in time to ship all the cheese to Milan?

We made it with all of our goods intact, albeit after paying a lot literally and figuratively to get everything there on time. At 10:00 PM, Thursday, September 20, 1000 pounds of American cheese arrived at the warehouse in Bra (so too all the dry goods – posters, catalogs, handtowels – and the display). Unbelievable – the eighty-five cheeses made it intact and in great shape! The beer, wine and cider arrived 3 hours before the first American workshop on Friday!

By noon on Friday, we were ready to go at the Mercato stand. But the afternoon was very quiet and I wondered what would we do with all the cheese if nobody arrived? We left the stand around 4 to attend the opening ceremony in the Piazza Caduti per la Libertà, site of the town hall. Imagine for a moment, a beautiful town square dominated at one end by a huge church with the town hall next to it. The cobblestone paved square slopes down from the church, almost like a natural amphitheater. At the base was a raised platform with six to eight chairs – yikes, were we about to hear that many speeches about cheese? Yes indeed, speeches about cheese from the mayor, regional officials, Giovanni Alemanno, the Italian Minister of Agriculture, and Carlo Petrini, founder and president of Slow Food International.

Before the ceremony, Francesco Guida, the mayor (sindaco) of Bra, came over to greet and welcome us. In his welcoming speech, Sindaco Guida acknowledged representatives from Switzerland, France, Ireland, and Japan. Then he turned to us and, clapping his hands in appreciation extended a special warm welcome to us and asked us to stand. The entire crowd, nearly 1,000 people, arose and applauded for nearly 30 seconds. We were in tears – of pain, of joy, of feeling connected to the citizens of Bra and everyone else there. And, it was just the beginning of four days of intense work, sharing, and interaction.

Upon returning to the Mercato, we met a totally different scene. A huge crowd surrounded the booth, totally overwhelming the three people behind it, who were furiously dashing about as they made little plates of small tastes for people to try. And it never stopped from that point on. For the next three days, we ran, laughed, cursed (well I did when a wheel of cheese fell on my foot), sweated, and celebrated until Monday when people were still arriving at 6 PM even though we were out of cheese (1000 pounds mind you).

Slow Food organizers estimate 130,000 people attended the four-day event! 130,000 people for cheese; the number just boggles my mind. Officials said our stand was by far the most popular one. America's artisan cheeses received smiles, pleased looks and comments like “pretty good cheese from America” from an Englishman and a Sicilian deli owner, “how can I get this for my store in Palermo.” Several business owners wanted more information about importing cheeses and the Comune of Castegnato invited us to participate in its cheese festival next year.

We couldn't have done this without two dozen Americans and a few Italians who rolled up their sleeves and worked hard (the Mercato opened at 10 AM and closed at 11 PM.). We laughed and cried at the funny and compassionate moments – how much bread we went through and espresso (the orders went from singles to doubles). Gregory and Jeff discovered a new diet – lots of espresso and for lunch, anchovies sandwiches made by Sauro Liberto, Patrick’s father-in-law. The insanity as we almost shoveled cheese to people as they stood patiently, sometimes six to eight people deep, while we prepared their tasting plate. Sometimes I felt as if we took this wonderful “slow” food event and gave it a “fast food” twist! And on a serious note, unknown to most of us, the Italians assigned a plainclothes security team to insure our safety.

The four sold out workshops were positively received. We told stories about America's artisan food heritage, the people who make cheese and their commitment to land, animals, sustainable agriculture, and local communities. The workshops were cathartic as they allowed us to connect in spite of hardship and to tell stories. New Yorkers Rob Kaufelt, owner of Murray’s Cheese Shop and Peter Kindel of Artisanal Restaurant gave wonderful presentations in their three sessions. Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery, Ben Watson, author of Cider Hard and Sweet, and Luca Currado, owner of Vietti Vineyards, Castiglione Falletto, Italy provided the beverage counterpoints. In the “Old World, New World” session, I took over the presentation task with Garrett. We compared American artisan cheese and beers to their French counterparts and celebrated historic traditions and new interpretations.

Many people contributed to the success of the event. We acknowledge the generous sponsorship from: Bandon Cheese-Bandon Coast Foods, Inc.; Cabot Creamery; California Milk Advisory Board; Capriole Inc.; Crystal Foods; Grafton Village Cheese Company; The Great Cheeses of New England; Vermont Butter & Cheese Company; Vermont Cheese Council; the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council; and generous contributions from Slow Food USA members and many of the sixty-five convivia around the country. To Charles Finkel, I offer a special tribute for donating the design and art work for the first Artisan Cheeses of America poster.

I want to give special thanks to Tricia Callahan of Cargo Inc. and Cheryl Sullivan and John Ciano, CEO, of Crystal Food Import Corporation. Tricia literally created wonders out of the freight morass. Crystal received all the cheese shipments and then repacked them for the journey to Bra. We appreciate deeply the support from cheese producers and the US Embassy staff in Rome (several of whom worked the Mercato stand), and the American ex-pats working with Slow Food International. We hope our experience and knowledge will contribute to future American presence at Slow Food International events.

A special salute and thanks to Karen and Chuck Evans (Rollingstone Chèvre, ID), Caitlin and Brad Hunter and their daughter Fiona (Appleton Creamery, ME), and Liz and Tom Parnell (Fromagerie Belle Chèvre, AL), cheese producers who not only donated product but still came and joined the American team. We could not have done it without all of you. We thank the staff from Pasticceria Cavour, where we recharged our batteries with great espresso, who dug into their pockets and gave 100,000 Lire for New York City. We thank the school children of the Barolo hilltown of La Morra (a few hundred people) who contributed 50,000 Lire.

Perhaps the enduring memory belongs to Gregory. He will forever remember a pair of young boys, age 12 or so, who walked up to the stand on Friday within a few minutes of opening. They thrust two 10,000 Lire ($5 each) banknotes into his hand and said “niente, per New York City” (no tastes, only for New York). Mind you these were not isolated incidents; they happened every few minutes with each of the two dozen Americans who staffed the stand. They occurred from opening gong to closing sigh!

Grazie mille Americani e Italiani! Slow Food USA will donate $2,000 to the New York Police and Firemen Widows’ and Children's Benefit Fund.