About Rosemary

Rosemary began her career in cheese in 1988 when she worked part time as a bookeeper for her then father in law at the Southampton Village Cheese Shop. However, in an attempt to further explore the world of cheese, travel to Europe was an opportunity to become immersed in the world of fine food, not only cheese. With Steve Jenkins Cheese Primer in hand, the journey began.

Her first trip was to England to visit Neal’s Yard Dairy in Covent Garden and Paxton & Whitfied & Harrod's in London. Then, it was off to France to see Heddiards & Fauchon in Paris and a driving tour of Normandy where the villages of Livarot &, Camembert & Pont Leveque came alive as did the deep tradition of cheese in the French culinary culture. The following trip for cheese education was one to California, where it became evident from visits to Ig Vella in Sonoma & the girls at Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes that there was indeed a newly emerging cheese culture here in The United States. That presumption proved to be accurate when in 1998 while attending the American Cheese Society's annual conference at Shelburne farms in Vermont. There, dozens of cheese makers gathered together and shared their wares, representing the USA’s newly founded cheese culture. 

Rosemary’s travels in Italy brought her to visit the likes of Peck in Milan, long known for its astounding cheese & charcuterie selection and continuing on to Tuscanny, Emiglia Romano & Veneto. All in a quest to discover better ways to promote display and understand the cheese culture as it exists both at home and abroad.

When an opportunity to import her own cheese availed itself, it was off to Switzerland. With the help of one of her customers who speaks Swiss German, she was able to meet the cheese maker, and bring in 40 wheels of his Morgeten Alpine Swiss. While there a visit to Gruyere, Zurich, Bern & Grindelwald provided valuable knowledge into how to prepare and present a proper cheese fondue. Thus, the café menu was born.

Even today, Rosemary continues to attend food shows both at home and abroad. Her travels have expanded to Burgundy, Dijon, Calabria, Puglia, Piedmonte & Sicily, as well as touring farms in upstate New York, Connecticut and right here on Long Island,  all in an attempt to further explore new food trends and to deepen her understanding of not only cheese and its production, but the artisanal production of various other specialty foods as well. This helps The Village Cheese Shop and its employees be knowledgeable on all of the products it sells. A testament to her knowledge of fine foods and cheeses, she has been a guest lecturer at her alma mater, St. Joseph's College, for classes featuring global foods and small businesses and hosts various tasting events & informational seminars both in house and out. 

She continues to be excited about the ever expanding world of cheese, specifically domestic cheese and finds deeply satisfying the ability to form relationships with all the various cheese makers, farmers, vendors & customers that she is in contact with on a daily basis.