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THE BUSINESS OF EATING

And the cheese (no longer) stands alone

December 12, 2015

As Cape Region dining continues to garner national attention, our foodie-friendly infrastructure continues to grow as well. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Spice and Tea Exchange and Olive Orchard Tasting Room in Rehoboth Beach. I don’t believe that either of these concepts would have succeeded in this tiny town without the support of those who travel here to enjoy our quality restaurants. Infused balsamic vinegars, superior olive oils, over 20 varieties of salt and sugars, hundreds of spices - who wooda thought!?!

But longtime Cape Region foodies remember another specialty store that was certainly a harbinger of things to come. Beautiful Foods on Rehoboth Avenue sold organic, handmade and traditionally made foods, cheeses and charcuterie. Owner Bill Wilson was no stranger to the restaurant business, having worked his way up through Kupchick’s Corner Market (now Casa Amici) in Lewes, and the long-gone but forever revered Sydney’s in Rehoboth Beach. Bill was also part of the crew that opened Zebra restaurant on Lake Avenue.

But Bill is a DIY kind of guy, and it wasn’t long before he went off on his own. “At Beautiful Foods, I wanted people to know where their food came from,” he told me. And for nine years he was the sole source for high-quality cheeses and unusual ingredients for serious cooks here at the beach. When Bill eventually needed a break, noted California chef Debra Sutter opened Nourish in that space. The concept was similar, with the added aspect of catering and sit-down service.

Fast-forward to a couple of years ago when Norman Sugrue (Big Fish Restaurant Group) introduced his good friend Bob Ciprietti (Touch of Italy) to acknowledged cheesemonger Bill Wilson. Born and raised near Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, Ciprietti was no stranger to cheese. When he decided to make Touch of Italy the empire it is today, his first move was to bring Casa Della Mozzarella boss Orazio Carciotto to Delaware. Carciotto is the undisputed master of mozzarella in the Bronx, and he tutored a young Mike Berardinelli (now the regional manager of Touch of Italy’s operations) in the secrets of pasta filata and its magical metamorphosis into that creamy, slightly salty ambrosia called mozzarella. But that wasn’t enough for Ciprietti. He wanted to expand and enrich the cheese selections in his deli cases, and after he opened the Ocean City Touch of Italy he handed those cheese cases over to Bill Wilson. “I needed him to eliminate repetition and increase the range of cheeses we offered,” says the boss.

Fast-forward again to the present, and Touch of Italy’s mozzarella is the envy of retailers up and down the Delaware and Maryland coasts. While the rest of us slumber, it is hand-made in Lewes six nights a week to be delivered to all three restaurants in the morning. No mozzarella is ever more than about 18 hours old. In keeping with that philosophy, Wilson has fine-tuned the cheese selections at Touch of Italy. Of course, you can have the best product in the world, but it won’t matter unless it can be properly presented to the customer. “We all need an example of what good is,” says Wilson, and a day doesn’t go by that he isn’t helping Touch of Italy’s delimen (and women) to properly describe, recommend, pair and sell the cheeses he has chosen for the cold cases.

Customers’ responses to his knowledgeable deli staff have been so positive that Touch of Italy now offers classes, conducted by cheesemonger Wilson himself, on selecting, tasting and pairing different kinds of cheese with wine, beer and food. In fact, just last weekend, RehobothFoodie.com launched a brand-new online column titled The Big Cheese. It is written by none other than Bill Wilson, and those of you who know him will recognize his clever and quirky humor. The first three installments cover parmagiano-reggiano, mozzarella and provolone. “Pecorino romano is not far behind,” he says sheepishly. (If you got that, then you are definitely a cheese lover.)

Like the high-end products at Olive Orchard Tasting Room and Spice & Tea Exchange, Touch of Italy’s extensive collection of gourmet cheeses would not be possible without the customers to buy them. And many of these customers live or visit here because of the storekeepers, chefs, owners and entrepreneurs who put their talent, time and money on the line to make the business - and pleasure - of eating at the beach an unforgettable event.


Bob Yesbek is a serial foodie and can be reached at byesbek@CapeGazette.com.

 

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