Q&A with the big cheese: Odysseas Gounalakis
Odysseas Gounalakis, who has owned Scheffler’s Deli & Cheese, at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, since 1992, is one of a few Canadians to earn the certified cheese professional title from the American Cheese Society. The title is given to candidates who pass a 150-question, multiple-choice exam that measures their mastery of all things cheese. Here, Gounalakis discusses why he took the test and why more grocers should follow his example.
Why did you decide to get this cheese certification?
I’ve been involved in the cheese business on and off for 30 years, and I wanted to validate my knowledge. There wasn’t a body that would say, “What you’re doing, you’re doing right,” and I wanted to feel comfortable about my knowledge. I have about 15 people working for me, so the idea was to lead by example. So instead of forcing them to go do exams, I decided that I’ll take the exam first to show my people.
Should more Canadians be taking this exam?
Cheese is becoming more popular. It needs people who know how to handle it, so yes. I would prefer if we had a body here, in Canada, and we had our own test. I think that would be awesome. But the other reason I went down there was for the society’s annual conference. You get to see new producers, new cheeses, make friendships, exchange emails–it’s good networking. They produce some good cheese and they offer some interesting courses. In June, I’m going to Jasper Hill, in Vermont, to take a course in affinage, or cheese finishing. It’s the first time this course has been offered in North America; usually it’s held in Lyon, France. For me, these courses offer an ongoing education to see what’s going on and to learn more about cheese.
How difficult was the exam?
I studied for about two months. It wasn’t extremely hard–either the exam was easy or I knew too much. Some questions I missed were related to the U.S. market, and there was no way to know about them. As for the rest, it’s knowledge any professional should know. You have a goat cheese from the Loire area in France, which wine goes best with it? That sort of thing.
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Why do you think cheese has become more popular?
If you ask me, cheese is the perfect food. It has protein, fat, all the flavours. You can survive on cheese. We had a blackout here in Toronto because of an ice storm, and we were left without electricity for about six days. It was recommended you could eat some cheese because you have enough salt, fat and protein to survive.
How knowledgeable are your customers about cheese?
It’s not the same as 10 years ago. There’s more available to them–and they know more about it. Canadians travel a lot. They go to different countries and are exposed to different cultures.
They come back and they want to recreate the same thing. We have The Food Network and so many things about food now, so people are way more aware. I feel they have gone beyond mozzarella.