Cheese and Toast has been launched to finally expand on the post-it notes scattered throughout my home encompassing core food philosophies like “Kale-god I hate you” and “Key to good schnitzel–drown in oil”.
In Spring 2006 I opened a wedding shower gift containing The Good Housekeeping cookbook. I’d always loved food and certainly ate lots of delicious stuff from my mom’s kitchen growing up. But starting to read about the language, skill and technique of cooking intrigued me. I attended the Cordon Bleu in London, England that fall (yes, it was slightly crazy spontaneous). With great joy I called my mom in the first week to tell her about a cool “thickening” technique called a ROUX. I’m glad I could not see her rolling her eyes over the phone.
After leaving the Cordon Bleu I took a year to work in the fine-dining industry and apply my new-found skills in a “real” kitchen. I’ve been fortunate to have spent the last few years eating, cooking, tasting and writing about food. Currently I write a bi-weekly cheese column called “The Spread” for the Globe and Mail and I also host their web-cooking series called Chef Basics. I also freelance write for various other clients such as Attitude Marketing and Sid Lee in Montreal and the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine.
I do love cheese on toast, but also licorice nibs (chewy to the point that you might lose a tooth) and my mom’s spaghetti sauce which is made with cubes of polish sausage.
Hope you like…
Sue Riedl
cheese and toast 
Absolutely love the fresh and zany writing, Ms. Riedl.
Cheers! : )
my fav foodie blog. Ever.
Sue! I adore your blog- you have such a great writing style and I love reading your personality in those morsels of cheese & toast!
Great work, so happy to read you,
Johanne
P.S. You have awesome hair! 🙂
wow. thank you so much! (thank God you can’t see my hair now!)
Great blog Sue!!! I didn’t realize that you got so into food. So cool!!
Thanks Matt. Yes, a few years ago…well….I guess you read it. Thanks for checking it out!
You’re awesome!
🙂
Hi Sue,
My name is Penny and I work for Panago Pizza. Not sure if you have heard of it but it’s a takeout and delivery spot with some pretty cool aesthetics and great tasting pies and well since you love cheeseeee…..
I was wondering if you would be at all interested in coming into our newest location in Liberty Village on November 9th for some free pizza samples. We would love it if you could do a review on us and some of the upcoming giveaways we have in anticipation of our opening. I am also happy to have you give away something on your site if you think that would be of interest.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Many thanks,
Penny
Hi Penny-
Sounds delicious. Would love to check you guys out on the 9th. And would love to do a giveaway! Let me know the details.
Sue
Hi Sue!
Along the same lines as Penny, I am doing work for a new cheese shop + restaurant opening soon in Toronto. Do you have a contact email you can pass along? We would love to have you attend our upcoming events!
Julia
Hey Sue, I recently got back from Paris and still can’t get over how delicious the butter is there. Any recommendations on delicious french style butter in Toronto? I know it’s illegal to sell unpasteurized butter here, but thought you might have some close seconds in mind.
Hey Rubz,
Thought I saw an Eiffel tower photo frOm you! Yes, you can get artisanal small batch butters in TO. Some from Ontario and Quebec has some good ones. Try Cheese Boutique in the west end, Pusateris or many fine food places. Cheese Boutique for sure. All the Best Fine Foods on Yonge or Culinarium. Also loblaws PC has a Normandy butter and I think I just saw a French style butter in their new Black Label luxury line. Worth trying?
It is a noble mission! Good luck. Let me know if you find one you like!
Sue
Hi Sue, I enjoy reading your cheese articles in the Globe & Mail – in particular’s todays on Oka. They are insightful and full of interesting detail. I’m taking a new world cheese course at George Brown which I’m really enjoying. Just curious to know if you have a favorite Quebec artisanal cheese that you’d be willing to share.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Risa
Hi Risa-
I have many favourites….a few that I always buy are Grey Owl (goat cheese), Hercule de Charlevoix or 1608 and I love Bleu de la Mouttonaire…..Migneron de Charlevoix is also a fave.
What about you? And please tell me how you like the course? I have been curious to discover how it is when I heard about it.
S.
Sue,
Saw your article about Oka cheese in the Globe & Mail. My friend did a documentary for the National Film Board about Brother Alberic and his monastery in Holland, Manitoba called Le Secret du Moine (Monk’s Secret).
You can check it online at the NFB website.
Great Blog!!
Best,
Michael
Hi Michael, Thanks for writing. I know of and have seen A Monk’s Secret, it is amazing. And if anyone else is reading this I too watched it free online, it is only about 25 minutes and really fascinating. It’s a captivating documentary–not just for cheese lovers, as a part of Canadian history and really shows the dedication of the monks. This is the link for anyone else http://www.nfb.ca/film/monks_secret
Well, I do not know if that’s going to work for me, however definitely proved helpful for you! 🙂 Excellent post!
Hi Sue,
Just got the link to your article in the Globe & Mail.
Great article !
And I also got to know your blog now.
I always liked cheese with coffee since I was a kid.
In our farm we would always say: Let’s have “coffee with two hands”, meaning coffee cup in one hand, and cheese in the other.
Now I am spending some years in Oakville.
If you have time, come have some coffee with us ! With cheese !
We bring the coffee from our farm, and roast it her.
http://www.carvalhocoffee.ca
Cheers !
Gabriel
Hi Gabriel–
I love the “coffee with two hands” story. I think I too like to have coffee with two hands. We have some friends in Oakville, next time I am there I will stop by. Thanks so much for checking out the article and blog.
Oh–what kind of cheese was in the “cheese hand”?
Sue
Hi Sue,
The cheese we have at the farm is called “Queijo Minas” .
Minas is the short name of the state, “Minas Gerais”.
I just checked at Google and they have info and pictures on it.
It is a white cheese, and we make it right after we milk the cows, with the milk still warm, and there is always a special place in each kitchen where the temperature is better to finish it. We usually eat it fresh, and it is very soft. It can also wait for about two weeks, then its gets drier and harder. In this stage it is very traditional to eat it with the Guava fruit sweet. It goes so well together, that it is know as “Romeo and Juliet”.
Will be waiting for you for a cup of coffee ! Drip or Espresso.
If you can, let me know when you are coming so I make sure to be there.
Cheers !
Gabriel
Dear Ms. Riedl,
A friend of mine wants to and is opening a fine cheese (artisan, etc) shop in a potentially great location in St.Catharines. He is a chef by training, albeit not at a level that would comparable to you.
I am concerned that he does not know enough about cheese, although he worked making cheese and his idea is sound. Can you point to someone or a supplier that he could deal with to help him along. His idea is Niagara, Ontario and Canada first along with other fine foods from here at “home”. He wants to promote the region and province.
Thank you
Rick
Hi Rick-
The idea sounds amazing and if he’s a chef and dedicated to peomoting local food sounds like he will make sure to learn the details (hopefully). But, you;re right, it can be a tough business too. There is a cheese course starting in Septemeber through the Cheese Education Guild of Ontario which is excellent and they have god contacts, there is a cheese festival in Picton the first weekend of June (The Great Canadina Cheese Festival) which is a lot of fun and probably good for networking–all local Canadian makers and probably other shop owners. Maybe that would be a good (and fun) place to start?
Let me know if you need more info on either.
Sue
Has the Globe and Mail fired all their copy editors/proofreaders? In today’s column by the cheese woman–who never says how much it costs–she wrote, “At the dairy where the infamous Dragon’s Breath blue cheese and authentic Goudas are made from traditional recipes,…” Infamous?!? Does she or the Globe’s copy editors know what that means? Look it up–and “notorious” too. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/canadas-top-five-cheese-destinations/article4452324/
The good news is all Globe copy editors are alive and well. I do know what infamous means and the usage of the word is a tongue in cheek commentary on the fact that Dragon’s Breath was involved in some cheese controversy stemming from its illegal sale in Ontario (penalties for which can lead to a 2 year imprisonment for the seller and a $250,000 fine)
I don’t put the price of the cheeses in my articles as they vary from store to store and so it is impossible to be accurate. Artisinal cheeses are usually more costly than others, but I feel that going to the cheese counter and having a taste is the best way to assess whether it is worth your money.
I appreciate the comment and am glad to have the chance to clarify.
hi Sue I just had my first try of Brebis Rousse amazing. Its like a sunday roast lamb dinner. Love to get your thoughts.
Hi Cecilia. sorry about the late response, have been vacationing/slacking blogging. Brebis Rousse, yum. A nice alternative to serving something like brie, and I don’t know how you had it but I think with fresh baguette and a simple green salad makes a perfect meal. (like any cheese with fresh baguette and a salad I suppose!) Yes, that lovely meaty quality of sheep’s milk–sounds like maybe yours was nice and ripe? The orange colour comes from a bit of annato–the same natural dye that colours cheddar orange.
Sue – I can’t stop reading this blog. Love the content. Love the images. To that end, I have nominated you for a Daisy Award at my blog! Cheers!
Elen! Thank you, that made my day. Thank you so much.
HI Sue,
Craig & Noble TOFOOD just launched at Maple Leaf Gardens LOBLAW store under the direction of Deli Director, Kevin Crafter, who suggested I contact you. This Fresh New Food is the first to market in the Grab & Go, Ready to Eat Vegan Protein Category. it may not be cheese, but it is great on Toast!!!
best,
Laurie Anne Brennan
Hi Laurie Anne-
Do you have a link to any more info? Sounds good!
Sue
Hey Sue,
I started out as a Chef and switched to VFX, you started out in VFX and switch to haute cuisine. Kind of cool. When we started to work together I had just left my restaurant job to start my first VFX job. I is amazing how things turn out.
Best of luck with everything
Robert Waterworth
Hey Rob–had I known I would have been asking you to bring in lunches at GVFX! That is kind of weirdly cool. I’m glad you “stopped by” to say hi! Thanks.
I think a nice meal would have been wasted on most of that lot, lol.
It is great to see you doing so well. Keep it up.
Rob
Dear Sue,
My name is Ken. I am a representative of Old Amsterdam Cheese and I would like to briefly discuss with you the benefits of our cheese and discuss the possible promotional opportunity between us.
One cannot talk about Old Amsterdam without first discussing the Westland Family, the founders of the company. For years, the family sold cheese door-to-door and traded cheese in Amsterdam and the surrounding lands. Eventually, the family acquired a storehouse in Amsterdam where their dream of creating a mature cheese with the same sweet, rich, smooth, and creamy taste of the cheeses they enjoyed began.
To this day, the production of Old Amsterdam is still overseen by master cheese makers constantly monitored for quality and taste. Over the years, it has won many awards, including:
• World Championship Cheese Awards (Best of Class (Aged Gouda)): 2010
• Deutsche Landwirtschafts Gesellschaft (Gold): 2011, 2009, 2008, 2006…
• Nantwich Cheese Show (Best Dutch Cheese): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996
• Superior Taste Award (3 Stars): 2011, 2010, 2009
• World Cheese Awards (Gold Medal): 2000, 2001
Old Amsterdam is a smooth, rich, robust, easily sliceable cheese that offers a beautiful depth of sweet and savory flavors. But you don’t have to just hear my words on the matter. We would gladly send a sample of our fine Gouda and let you judge for yourself.
We look forward to hearing back from you!
Sincerely,
Your Friend, Old Amsterdam
Hi Ken, thanks for this great offer. I wanted to let you know I had read your note and I would love to post more about the cheese. If it is OK I will be back in touch after the holidays as I will be away for awhile.
Thanks so much for getting in touch,
Sue
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What an impressive blog! How can I get in touch with you?
Thank you. You can shoot me an email at sue@riedl.ca if you like! Sue
Love your blog! If you are ever in Durham region come check us out at Country Cheese Company in Ajax. We have the largest selection of artisan and specialty cheeses in Durham.
I would LOVE too! Thanks for the note!
The one and ONLY food blog I follow…have been following for a very long time now. Not only are you an amazing person, but I love your style of writing sooooo much…and most importantly, you write about / eat food which I give a damn about…and living in Northern Ontario (kinda darn close to the big T.O.) I really appreciate hearing about all of the local Ontario mentions, etc. You are the best! And I could survive on just cheese and toast. This week, I am craving a muffaletta because of your wonderful-as-usual recent post! 🙂 🙂 Thanks again for everything and keep those entries coming! 🙂
Hi Sue! I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award to raise awareness to your blog! Hope you don’t mind! Details here: http://wedgeintheround.com/2013/03/05/thank-you-for-nominating-witr-for-the-liebster-award/
This was so amazing of you! Thank you. Sorry for my late response, I was not doing well on keeping up with corrospondence pre and during vacation!
Really appreciate this, Sue
Hope SF was great. Get to Mission?
Cheers!
Hello,
I am writing on behalf of Socheese.fr, the online cheese magazine. We regularly publish articles about artisan and raw milk cheese in France, and abroad, and we are interested in working with people who also appreciate and promote this kind of production, and above all who love cheese.
We have recently discovered your blog and are very interested in your work. We have added your page to our list of useful sites onto our website and we would like to know if in the near future you would be interested in some form of partnership with us.
Please take a look at our website http://www.socheese.fr/?lang=en and facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/So-Cheese-Around-the-World/226385430831925?ref=nf
We look forward to hearing from you soon
Corinne Andrew
Hi Corinne-
I just took a quick peek at your website. WoW! I could spend a full day there. I am just travelling in California but would love to partner on something together. You can also email me at sue@riedl.ca.
Thanks so much for getting in touch and visiting my site. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue