From the Cheese Portraits series.

This is an incredible mixed cow and sheep's milk cheese, as one would expect from this Italian maker, Occelli. Their cheese is always a special indulgence because of the extremely high quality of their milk. They always produce organic, cheeses and butters of the highest standards and are part of the slow food movement.

What sets their cheeses apart from one another is often the way in which they age it, and whatever incredible combination of ingredients their wheels are covered with and aged to perfection.

For this painting I present you the gin-soaked wheel they made wrapped in spinach. As it turns out, Emilio Mignucci, owner of Di Bruno Brothers in Philadelphia, was the inspiration for this version of their testun. Apparently when Emillio arrives, he likes gin & tonic with their cheese. Occelli surprised him with this version of their cheese soaked with London Dry gin and wrapped in blanched spinach which offers a flavor profile that's mineral fresh and delicious.

I had a lot of fun painting it and the background color was a suggestion from Madame Fromage, who said tasting this cheese with the gin, reminded her of a wonderful G&T we had that included pink peppercorns. Well, I cannot ignore divine inspiration, can I?

Origin: Italy

Price: $1200