Some Like It Hot - Spicy Cheese Tasting
On second thought, maybe this is NOT the title to grab your attention, since I’m pretty sure that every person in Texas right now questions our choice of location. But for those who believe in the adage that you fight fire with fire, we’re offering our first-ever (virtual) Spicy Cheese class this Wednesday. Zoom fatigue? No problem! This event is offered via Facebook Live, so you can either tune in at 6pm (in full on cozy clothes) and “ask” questions by commenting, or you can watch the video at your leisure later in the evening. John and I are only co-leading one virtual tasting a month these days, so we hope you’ll grab your antacids folks and join us! We brought in a lot of special cheeses we don’t normally carry just for this fun themed event. Tickets are $30 and you’ll pick up via contactless curbside from 1-4 on Wednesday (or pay an additional fee for delivery). Marilyn Monroe costumes optional. Hah!

Beverage Pairing Note: We normally recommend bubbles and sparkling beverages as pairings. The effervescence of the bubbles will make spicy flavors even pricklier. If you want that, go for it. Otherwise, we recommend still whites and rose wines, or even thicker, milkier stouts and porters for this pairing.

Local Pickles!
Woohoo! Our Cheese & Pickles Pairing collaboration class this past weekend sold out like hotcakes. Why? Because it featured the one and only Sheena Moore of Sheena’s Pickles! A month ago, she got to work in our kitchen, and we’re thrilled to announce that her pickles are now for sale in our business (online in the “nuts, olives, fruit” category). We’re kicking off her relaunch with her Spicy Pickled Cucumbers and Pickled Okra.

Based in Austin, Sheena uses fresh, seasonal, and local produce to make pickled yummies. Shenna started pickling for fun in 2012 - but her circle of family and friends didn’t let her keep it as a hobby. And Sheena’s Pickles was born. Help us welcome a local maker into our shop. (Fun fact: Sheena taught a pickling class in our Adult Summer Camp Series about 7 years ago!)

Tasting with Local Musician Jackie Venson
In celebration of Women’s Equality Day on 8/26, we’re spotlighting an awesome local musician for our Cheese + Music (virtual) Happy Hour Series on Saturday 8/22. Jackie Venson is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter known far and wide for her complexly beautiful music and blazing guitar skills. Your $30 ticket gets you a flight of 4 cheeses and food pairings and virtual access to the limited event of 45 minutes. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Jackie has traveled the world playing to massive crowds both as a headliner and as support for major acts such as Gary Clark Jr, Aloe Blacc, and Citizen Cope to name a few. This fall, Jackie will be releasing her next studio album “Vintage Machine”, her first studio follow up to 2019’s “Joy”. Music from “Vintage Machine” will be featured heavily on Jackie’s upcoming taping for Austin City Limits’ 46th season. With the uncertainty of the times we’re living in, one thing holds true for Jackie Venson, she’s going to play her music, speak her truth and spread as much joy as she can doing it. Help us support an awesome local musician while we continue showing love to our artisan cheesemakers too. (More about Jackie Venson here.)

(Virtual) Tasting Classes Coming Up
SO! Maybe our kids aren’t going back to school yet but the grown-ups can. We have a lot of great virtual events and tickets available for August events. All are virtual with curbside pickups of cheese plates (or option for local delivery). Deadline to purchase tickets is midnight the night before an event. Anything in red below is a one-time or special event we don’t do often. Click on the calendar date here to get more info or tix:

Tue 8/18 (6:30pm) - Cheese 101: The Seven Styles of Cheese
Wed 8/19 (6pm) - Some Like It Hot: A Spicy Cheese Tasting with The Antonellis
Thu 8/20 (8pm) - Soft Cheeses: Rich, Gooey, Delicious
Fri 8/21 (6:30pm) - An Antonelli’s Cheese Date Night
Sat 8/22 (6pm) - Happy Hour Tasting celebrating Women’s Equality Day
Sun 8/23 (6:30pm) - Vive la France: A Celebration of French Cheeses
Tue 8/25 (6:30pm) - Prosciutto, Salami, and Cheese...Oh My!
Wed 8/26 (6pm) - Behind the Scenes with Point Reyes Farm (California)
Thu 8/27 (8pm) - A Cheese & Chocolate Pairing
Fri 8/28 (6:30pm) - Cheese & Wine Pairing with William Chris Winery
Sat 8/29 (6:30pm) - An Antonelli’s Cheese Date Night
Mon 8/31 (6:30pm) - Cheese 101 benefiting Lady Bird Wildflower Center

*Note: We offer classes and events in three different formats. If you’d like to know about how each different type of class is offered and the benefits of each, check it out here and scroll to bottom.

EVENTS FAQs

Are you hosting any in person events?
Nope, all events are virtual right now.

Does your virtual event come with a physical cheese plate for tasting?
Yes! You pick up your cheese plate via contactless curbside the day of the event (or you may be able to add on delivery for a fee to some addresses). Refrigerate your plate. Then pull it out of the fridge 45min before your event start.

Do you deliver?
While we don’t personally deliver, we do partner with Favor Fleet and DropOff Couriers to some locations. You don’t have to do that work though. Just order as you normally would, and we’ll handle the delivery part.

Can I have a private virtual party or event?
Yes! We’ve teamed up with individuals for special occasions like anniversaries and milestone birthdays, with companies to offer teambuilding appreciation events, and with nonprofits alike to help us all still cope with and celebrate through this pandemic. You need a group of at least 12 for a private party (at $40pp).

Can you ship my cheese plate?
Unfortunately, no. We cut cheese the day of the event. And what makes for good class plates (ie 1 ounce sample portions) does not make for good shipping conditions. However, we do offer a Cheese 101 Class in a Box and an American Cheese Class in a Box that we can ship. Get a group of 12 purchases, and we’ll ship to your locations around the United States AND host a live event guided by one of our cheesemongers.

News Around Town
Looking for more at-home fun? Desert Door Texas Sotol is hosting its third annual Mesquiteers Fest with Two Hives Honey and Miche Bread. This year's festival will be live streamed on 9/3. Preorder your Mesquiteers Fest kit so you can make, shake, taste, and sip along from home. More info and tix here.

In The News
It’s no surprise that folks moved to virtual, updated their ecommerce, and are trying to keep their businesses alive any way they can. We’re proud to be the first (as far as we know!) to offer a Cheese Class in a Box, as well as one of the first to take our cheese tastings virtual last March. To that end, we’ve taught over 7000 folks in virtual tastings since the pandemic hit. Thank YOU for helping keep our business alive! Here, Culture Magazine: The Word On Cheese did a small spotlight on ECommerce Trends.

How You Can Help Us Stay In Biz

From Austin:
Place an online order or phone order with no contact curbside delivery to your trunk
Order for delivery through Favor Fleet for $12
Buy Tickets to a Virtual Cheese Tasting Class; pick up the cheese plate curbside
Order a Cheese Tray online
Schedule a Cheesemonger Live virtual appointment to look through our case for curbside pickup
Book a Private Virtual Tasting class. In these isolating times, we're looking for ways to connect and build community

From Anywhere in the United States:
To ship via UPS, order online and choose from our newly-added cheese/meat/add-on offerings
Know someone that can use a cheese-y pick me up, ship a gift box care package
Purchase a gift card for future use
Join our monthly cheese club
Take our Cheese Tasting in a Box virtual class. (not a live event; prerecorded)
Send our social distancing care kit
Schedule a virtual cheesemonger appointment to discuss what you might like best and take your order for shipment
We offer FREE SHIPPING in Texas on orders over $75.

Stay Cheese-y!

John & Kendall
And Your Awesome Cheesemonger Team.