{"id":6559,"date":"2020-06-02T20:46:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T20:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/?p=6559"},"modified":"2020-06-02T20:57:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T20:57:11","slug":"afrim-pristine-a-passion-for-cheese-a-love-of-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2020\/06\/02\/afrim-pristine-a-passion-for-cheese-a-love-of-cooking\/","title":{"rendered":"Afrim Pristine: A passion for cheese, a love of cooking"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ma\u00eetre Fromager Afrim Pistine in the cheese cave at Cheese Boutique in Toronto.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the Love of Cheese: Recipes and Wisdom from Cheese Boutique<\/em><\/strong>, by Afrim Pristine, <\/strong>Ma\u00eetre F<\/strong>romager at Cheese Boutique in Toronto, is much more than a cookbook. Yes, 164 of its 214 pages are devoted to recipes but even those pages are chockful of cheese knowledge and anecdotes from Afrim\u2019s lifelong devotion and passion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He was born into the business that began as a convenience store in the Bloor West Village in the 1960s, eventually growing into the Cheese Boutique on Ripley Avenue<\/a>, Toronto\u2019s pre-eminent retailer of fine cheese and gourmet foods.<\/p>\n

Afrim started working at the store when he was eight years old. Three decades later, there is no one, arguably, with a higher profile and deeper knowledge of cheese in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\"\"Afrim\u2019s father, Fatos Pristine, built the business by cultivating relationships with the city\u2019s outstanding chefs. Afrim has taken those relationships to the next level. Many are his close friends, many have contributed to recipes in the book. The list reads like a who\u2019s who of chefs: from Michael Bonacini, who wrote the foreword, to Claudio Aprile and Chuck Hughes, Mark McEwan, Jonathan Gushue, Anthony Walsh and Daniel Bolud, to Bob Blumer who describes the \u201cspine-tingling gastrogasm\u201d of enjoying \u00c9poisses.<\/p>\n

But when I asked Afrim what is the one recipe of the 79 in the book that I must try, he recommended his mother\u2019s Gatto di Patate<\/em>. How he knew we love potatoes in this house almost as much of cheese, I don\u2019t know, but Modesta Pristine\u2019s recipe delivered deliciousness in spades, as you can read here.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the Love of Cheese <\/em>is available for convenient online purchase and contactless delivery at the CheeseLover.ca Bookstore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The wisdom portion of the book\u2019s subtitle starts straightaway, after an introductory history of Cheese Boutique, with Cheese 101, Afrim\u2019s take on all you need to know about buying, storing and enjoying cheese. He covers all the bases in a straightforward, useful manner.<\/p>\n

Afrim, like most cheesemongers worthy of the name, is often asked to name his favourite cheese\u2014an impossible question, really, given the thousands of tasty cheeses on the planet. His response is to identify his top 10 cheeses of all time, in order of preference, no less.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The man loves to cook: Afrim Pristine working a wood stove at Fogo Island Inn.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We won\u2019t reveal the entire list but will allow that Parmigiano-Reggiano is clearly the first cheese named\u2014\u201cThe king of cheeses, end of story\u201d\u2014while two Canadian cheeses make the list:<\/p>\n

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