Warning: The photos in this blog post may bring on an urgent craving for nutty, salty, crumbly and perfectly savoury Parmesan cheese. Just go with it. It’s futile to resist.
Here’s a little brain teaser for you:
What do you get when you take 300 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (valued at $2,200 per wheel), over 250 participating Loblaw stores and the desire to skillfully crack them open at exactly the same time from coast to coast?
You get a Guinness World Record, that’s what.
The previous record, held by Whole Foods Inc, was 176. But on Sunday afternoon, Loblaw Companies Limited reported that 305 wheels, and counting, were cracked simultaneously.
“Today was a momentous day for Loblaw and our colleagues. It was an overwhelming experience to celebrate this achievement with our customers and colleagues at more than 250 stores; we couldn’t have done it without them,” said Metzi Liau, Senior Deli Category Director, Loblaw Companies. “Our colleagues were specially trained to crack the wheels in the traditional style upheld by Italy’s Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium, and we are thrilled to have achieved this world record.”
Now it’s well known far and wide that I’m a cheesehead; in fact, given the choice to exist on chocolate or cheddar, I’d gladly take savoury over sweet. So I was tickled pink with the opportunity to experience an intimate lunch featuring dishes using Parmigiano-Reggiano created by Chef Tom Filippou (Executive Chef and National Director, President’s Choice Cooking Schools). I attended with Robin Edwards (@shopwithrobin) and we were treated to celebrity appearances (members from Italy’s Consortium of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a representative from Guinness), a detailed lesson in old school cheese-making (a method that is roughly still used to this day – you don’t mess with perfection), and of course, a tasting. Mmm… Parmigiano-Reggiano.
So what about those photos? Set you salivary glands to “drool” now -…