Inside The Hills Market

Wine & Cheese Tastings Are Back

Wine & Cheese Tastings

These monthly tastings hosted by Wine Director Constance Begue and Cheese Guru Kent Rand come packed with flavor and fun. Each tasting includes tastings of 6 wines or beers, 6 cheeses and 6 appetizers to match. $35 per person for each tasting. Make your reservation today! 614.846.3220

June 26, 2008 - Wines & Cheeses from Greece 6.30 p.m.

July 24, 2008 - Wines & Cheeses from Italy 6.30 p.m.

August 21, 2008 - Wines & Cheeses from Australia 6.30 p.m.

September 25, 2008 - Wines & Cheeses from France 6.30 p.m.

October 23, 2008 - Octoberfest: Beers & Cheeses 6.30 p.m.

Classic Summer Trio

August. Time for great Ohio tomatoes, fresh basil and vacations. Sorry for the silence around the blog; I was out of the office last week, and will be gone again next week. But things will soon return to normal. Meanwhile, let's think about this trio of summer favorites: tomato, basil and mozzarella.

Kent asked me to feature Campana Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese this week on the blog. This creamy cheese from Southern Italy is textured and boasts a porcelain white color. Produced entirely from buffalo milk, this cheese is high in protein. Kent suggests serving a thick slice of Buffalo Mozzarella as shown above. The balsamic vinegar you see is actually Roland's Balsamic Glaze, a secret ingredient you can find on our shelves that tastes great with fresh colorful berries, as well.

Perfect Picnic Cheese

Tartufolo - Truffle Cheese

This is black truffle-infused cheese is usually made with sheep's milk, but our Cheese Guy, Kent Rand, tracked down a version made with cow's milk. This semi-soft Italian cheese is available only during the Spring and Summer and boasts a balance between the earthy flavor of black truffles and the rich flavor of goar's milk cheese. Kent recommends this cheese served in a sandwich with rare roast beef, sourdough and mesclun with just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It pairs well with Rieslings, as well. Either way, it looks like it's time for a picnic.

Kent Rand, Cheese Director

Kent Rand - Chalking It Up

Kent Rand, Cheese Director, found The Hills Market in September of 2003, when he responded to an ad looking for delicatessen help in a local paper. What a treat for us, when we found out that not only is he completely charismatic and great with our customers, but he's an actual bona fide Foodie. This man is absolutely passionate about food and wine, and he has an incredible drive to learn more.

It wasn't long before we realized that Kent would better be utilized as our Cheese Director. We offered the job and he accepted. His background as the Maître d’ at a French restaurant called La Chardonnay in Texas, and as an associate at a specialty delicatessen in Maine gave him the strengths The Hills Market needed to head up the Cheese Department.

Kent has an artistic side, too. There isn't any project that he can't master in a creative way. He's been given the task of creating all of our chalkboard art at Hills, and has managed to organize the cheese case in a beautiful and informative way with signs, flags and descriptions.

He spends some of his time at Hills searching for new fantastic cheeses, both local and international. For those customers who aren’t so familiar with different varieties of cheese, Kent says “don’t be afraid to ask. I’m more than happy to cut off a sample of any cheese you are uncertain about. I want you to love cheese as much as I do.”