Have you seen the show Chef’s Table on Nextlix? If you haven’t, get on it! It’s a must. I cried with a few episodes, yep, that’s right, beautiful food can bring me to tears (dramaaaa). In one of the episodes – the one with Massimo Bottura – they featured a parmesan cheese that’s one of chef Massimo’s favourites. Obviously I wished I was in the cheese factory with him tasting a bit of that salty, buttery heaven. Well, guess what? DREAMS DO COME TRUE!! Cheese dreams, nonetheless.
Turns out the guys from Sobeys are the official grocery vendor in all of Canada of the mentioned parmigiano regianno, AND – here comes the cool shit – they sent me a big hunker to test it!! YAAASSSS. I may be lactose intolerant, but sometimes busting out a mega dose of lactose pills is worth it, so so worth it.
Keep reading to find out some cool facts about this cheese, plus – wait for it – an invite for you to stuff your freaking face with parm AND a contest. Cheese cheese cheese..wait what? CHEESE!
The photo above shows some of the stuff I’m pulling together for Parm Night (yes there’s such a thing). More on that in a bit..
First, some cool facts (no, for reals, this is cool shit I didn’t know) about this “king of parms”:
- To determine if one of the parms is going to be a good one, master parm-makers tap the parmesan wheel with a hammer and literally listen to the cheese (see, you’re not alone, cheese also talks to them). When tapped, parm-masters can figure out (by the sound of it) if a cheese has cracked or has air pockets, which means it’s not perfect. Crazy!
- Only perfect wheels are labeled as true Parmigiano Reggiano and sold across the globe – the imperfect ones get sent to the Cheesecake Factory in Texas…just kidding! (I don’t actually know what they do with imperfect wheels).
- An expert panel of tasters nibbles on a wheel to make sure it has the crystal-like texture and nutty taste a true parmigiano should have (god, that’s a cool job).
- Each wheel can weigh almost 40kg! Those wheel packers must be ripped.
- Parmigiano Reggiano has designation of origin, meaning, some dude in a basement in Edmonton can’t just whip this shit up. Same rules as with champagne and tequila.
Now that we nerd’d out on parm facts, here comes the fun part: an invitation to join Parm Night! (and the contest too) – parm night – hence the cheesy proposal, get it? (ha….ha *slow clap*)
Parm night is happening November 14th and basically is a huge cyber party for all of us to eat cheese, yah, it’s sexy. You can also win cool shit by simply making one of Sobeys recipes for the evening (and tagging it with #MyParmNight). To find out about the whole shebang visit this page.
Ok now if you excuse me I gotta go get more lactose pills ’cause shit’s about to get real (oh wait, ew).
See you on Parm Night!
Post created in partnership with Sobeys. All views my own.
Katrina says
Oh my god, I know EXACTLY what episode you’re talking about – it made me cry too!! That guy had such a beautiful relationship to Parmesan and food. I’m so glad to hear someone else watched that too!! <3 <3
Gabriel says
YESS!! We are not alone! My other fave was the one with Francis Mallman, I mean the guys has his own island in Patagonia?!
Dena says
Wow, lucky you! How wonderful to be gifted this fabulous cheese. Parm night sounds magnificent….and yes, I loved Chef’s Table, too. Must watch for serious foodies.
Thank you so much.
D
Gabriel says
I know! I can’t wait for season 2. Totally hooked :)
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
You’re the third person that has recommended The Chef’s Table, so I know that I have to watch it now. I love parmesan, it’s one of my favourite cheeses and I love these photos.
Congratulations on getting to try a cheese that means so much to you.
Gabriel says
hey Angela! You gotta see it the show, it’s super good! My fave are the one with massimo and the one with Francis Mallman. Enjoy!
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
I’ve just watched the one with Massimo and you’re right it was great. I’ve also watched the one with Dan Barber, that really captured my imagination how self-sustainable he was – it was fascinating.
Kate says
Hahah! You’re cracking me up over here. Your photos are on point–as always! Parm night is on tonight!