PROFILE Cheesemakers are known for being
equally supportive. Utano admires Mateo Kehler at Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont, where he apprenticed, for promoting the region's cheeses, not just his own, and hopes to emulate that sense of community at Beecher's. "The cheese community has a lot of people who are open with their knowl- edge," he says, even giving other creameries a heads-up about surprise FDA inspections. "We're all in the same boat, so we want to look out for each other." In fact, Utano's workload at the market
isn't too far off from a true farming opera- tion. Early morning calls are expected with an operation that begins with a daily 2 a.m. milk delivery. "I've gotten good at solving problems half asleep," he says with a laugh. "Whatever it takes to keep it running."
Outreach: Customers and Classrooms
Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 754
As a relative newcomer, Beecher's is still being discovered daily, Jennerjahn says, and greater outreach is in the works. "We don't advertise," she explains, "but I have so much faith in the product that I just need to get it in more people's mouths—and then they will come back." Partnerships have already played a role
in the business's first-year success. A stunt promotion with online magazine Urban Daddy, involving a grilled-cheese martini— "It was horrible," the manager admits— brought locals in droves to The Cellar. "I seri- ously would like to thank Urban Daddy for this restaurant they gave me," she declares. The team has brought the cheese to other menus as well, from Casellula, a wine-and- cheese bar in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, to the new East Village bar Pouring Ribbons. Jennerjahn plans to promote catering
Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 720 38 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com
on delivery website Seamless as well, but stops herself at online couponing. "I'm not a huge fan of just the straight discount," Jennerjahn says. Instead she prefers promo- tions that focus on what makes the product special: the quality. Adds Utano: "We want (continued on p. 65)