Meet PCG Member – Rachel Klebaur: National Cheese Expert has Locals’ Backs
PCG Professional Member Rachel Klebaur’s history with cheese started in 2003 with a job at famed Murray’s Cheese on Bleeker Street in New York City. The Florida native quickly realized her New York customers knew more than she did about cheese.
“I got a job at the cheese shop because there was no program for cheese education,” Rachel says, “and I was interested in learning about cheese.”
Rachel worked there for two and a half years while attending the International Culinary Center. Her knowledge of cheese came from spending time in the cheese cave at Murray’s and reading “Cheese Primer” by Steve Jenkins. The book was considered the cheese bible at the time, she says.
“I really became intimate with life of all the different sorts of cheeses,” Rachel notes.
By 2012, Rachel was living in New York City, mom to three young children and managing a market in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. When she found out Charlotte’s 7th Street Public Market was looking for a cheese monger, Rachel thought it might be a good place to start her own shop.
Orrman’s Cheese Shop opened in September 2012. The shop’s name blends her maternal and paternal grandmother’s last names: Orr and Rheiman. Rachel takes care in choosing the cheeses and products she sells at the shop. It’s important for her to know the farmers, their stories and how the animals are raised. She looks for a clear and transparent line of sources.
The Market quickly transitioned from a place to buy products to a meetup place and food hall, and Rachel responded to the customer’s needs. She added soups, salads and grilled cheese sandwiches to the menu. Rachel’s husband, José Espinosa joined the operation to run the kitchen.
“We take items from our cheese case, and from the shelves and make sandwiches. We built the cheese bar in 2017 and that’s when we added cheese and charcuterie plates.”
Cheese mongers at Orrman’s can answer customer’s questions and make suggestions for pairings.
Regular events such as the bi-monthly Wine and Cheese Classes (conducted with fellow PCG Member Josh Villapando of Assorted Table Wine Shoppe) and Thursday Raclette Nights are popular with customers at the Market.
Outside 7th Street Public Market, Orrman’s partners with PCG Member Jay Bradish, owner of Red Clay Ciderworks, for cider and cheese pairing at the cidery every second Friday of the month and operates a cheese booth at the NoDa Farmers Market during the summer.
Rachel is an inaugural member of Piedmont Culinary Guild, joining in 2015. She takes advantage of the networking opportunities when she can find the time. She’s hosted a Professional Member meetup and a PCG Tastemakers Event at her shop.
“I joined to support the Guild,” she says. “They do a lot of hard work to bring the community together. It’s a great networking opportunity for me. It provides a way to get to know the chefs and gain their trust. I want them to know that I know what I’m talking about when I’m talking about cheese.”
Rachel recently increased her support of PCG by establishing Orrman’s Cheese Shop as one of the first Piedmont Culinary Guild Business Members.
Twice every month, PCG Professional Member Rachel Klebaur teams with fellow member Josh Villapando of Assorted Table Wine Shoppe for an in-depth wine and cheese class.
Attendees enjoy tasting of five wines paired with five cheeses while they learn a little a bit of everything from history, science, and politics of wine and cheese.
Orrman’s carries many local products to complement cheese boards, including Cloister and Coddle Creek Farm (PCG Member Steve Young) honeys, Chef Alyssa’s mustard and tomato jam (PCG Members Alyssa and Andrew Wilen), and jam and jellies from PCG member Megan Lambert’s Garnet Gals.
Rachel met Megan in 2012, the same year Orrman’s opened and Megan started selling jam. Megan is also a Senior Instructor at Johnson & Wales University. Megan notes how Rachel brings visibility and attention to local products which increases awareness in Charlotte restaurants and businesses.
“Rachel was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Garnet Gals,” Megan says. “It’s always such an education to visit the shop, and taste something new that she has brought in. They really have done a lot to raise the level of cheese culture, and food culture, in general, here in Charlotte.”
PCG member Mike Long is the Executive Chef and Culinary Director at The Asbury and The Dunhill Hotel in uptown Charlotte. He’s been purchasing cheese from Rachel for three years. After menu planning at the restaurant, Mike works with Rachel to decide what cheese might work best in a dish.
She often gives him a few samples to try. “She has a great palate, and I respect her opinion when it comes to pairings,” Long says. “It’s great to know Rachel can connect me to high quality locally made items such as mustard, honey and, of course, cheese!”
The connection to other guild members makes a difference in Rachel’s business. She’s built relationships with local producers, chefs and distributors.
“We’ve found distributors like Freshlist,” Rachel says. “We can buy locally produced eggs and vegetables that we use in the kitchen.
“We also have a wholesale program for chefs who are interested in where their products come from, might ask us to source a selection of cheese for their cheese plate.”
Rachel is not only considered a local cheese expert, but a national one as well. Last August, she was one of only 29 cheese mongers across the USA to become an official American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator (ACS CCSE).
The ACS T.A.S.T.E. (Technical, Aesthetic, Sensory, Tasting Evaluation) tests cheese professionals’ knowledge and skills in the assessment of cheese, from determining cheese condition and quality, to evaluating cheese flavor, body, texture, and appearance. Part of the test includes being provided with twelve unidentified cheeses where he candidates must assess and evaluate both positive and negative attributes in the context of that cheese’s style, including sight, taste, touch, and smell.
Needless to say, Rachel passed with flying colors.
Profile written by Vanessa Infanzon
Orrman’s Cheese Shop
Inside 7th Street Public Market
224 East 7th Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
Charlotte, NC 28202