Hello!

Dear cheese fan,

I'd been wanting to launch a cheese magazine/blog for almost three years now. It all started out in the cafeteria of a well-known magazine publishing house in New York City. My friend Jessica and I, who went to high school together and wound up working for two different magazines under the same publisher, would meet for lunch and get all schoolgirl-giggly over the daily selection of cheeses available in the special gourmet cheese section of the salad bar. Yea, we had it good there.

Naturally, as cheese enthusiasts and budding journalists, we thought: love of cheese + journalism = cheese magazine?! Cheese blog? We can market with the Cheese of the Month club! It'll be amazing! There's nothing on the market like it! But before we could execute our exciting business plan, our full-time jobs at major national publications, which often had us there until all

hours of the night, got in the way of our fromage fantasy—we simply didn't have the time. Alas, although I feel a bit wrong about embarking on this cheesy adventure without my dear Jessica, I'm sure she'll be contributing, and I can't wait see see what she has up her sleeve. (Note to Jessica's boss: Please stop working the poor girl til midnight every night so she can help me out over here.)

There was a phase where I asked literally every new person I met, "Would you read a magazine about cheese?" And the overwhelming response was: "OH MY GOD, YES." Think about it: What other food is as versatile and as adored (worldwide, may I add) as cheese? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert—you name is, cheese is always there, stirring up excitement, in its many manifestations.

And seriously, who doesn't like cheese? Except for vegans, who need to stop being so fancy, and lactose-intolerant, who should just suck it up and deal with blowing a little wind every now and then. (Fun fact: the older the cheese, the less lactose, meaning all you LIs can get away with sharp aged cheddar or any day—so stop making excuses!)

Let's face it: There's something inherently funny about cheese. It very often stinks, it's a common euphemism for farting, you shout it out like a lunatic when you're taking photos. There are enough stuffy food magazines out there touting gourmet this and artisan that—snoozefest. Let's put the "hee" back in cheese and celebrate it with a playful twist, as all food should be. That's what The Cheese Sheet is all about.

Enjoy!