I thought I was just on the lookout for cheese, what I discovered was a fierce yet tender-hearted chef, hell-bent on building up a community and feeding people physically and spiritually.

Talk to farmers and growers long enough and you’ll discover that they are passionate about what they do. You’ll also learn pretty quickly that farming is hard work – not so much the physical labor of growing things but getting people to understand the value of the product they hold in their hands.

There’s something about a dog’s love that is unlike any other. Having someone love you simply because you are you, who makes you feel like a hero and the best friend ever — it’s something to aspire to.

Like everyone else in my food-centric social media circle, I was shocked and extremely saddened this morning to hear of the death of one of my culinary heroes, Anthony Bourdain.

I'm munching on a cold carne asada burrito that I keep jabbing into a small, plastic condiment container filled with a fluorescent red/orange fermented chili sauce I picked up over two weeks ago at Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco.

Late last year I had the opportunity to sit down with Caleb Schiff, a NAU grad student who left a pretty solid career post grad-school to open his own pizzeria.