If you are out to dinner at a fine restaurant with an important client, it’s a good idea to know the luxury items on the menu. Here are a few historical facts and fun trivia about two gourmet food categories: lobster and cheese.
Lobsters
Legend has it that prison fare on the Eastern seaboard in the 1800’s was lobster because it was plentiful and cheap. Today, lobster is considered a delicacy and is usually one of the more expensive items on a menu.
Here is some social currency on the subject of lobsters:
Lobster shells are usually a blend of three colors: red, yellow and blue. One in 2 million lobsters is blue because it produces extra protein due to a genetic anomaly. One in 30 million lobsters is yellow, and one in 100 million is albino, also called a “crystal” lobster. The European lobster has a blue-tipped tail and legs, and some have variegated coloring.
The West Coast is home to the spiny lobster, also known as langouste or rock lobster. Unlike their Maine cousins (considered to be true lobsters), they do not have claws. Along the central California Coast, lobster season is between October and March. Spiny lobster meat is very sweet.
Cheese, please
France is the world’s largest exporter of cheeses, and the most revered cheese makers are the French. The impact of French cheese is evident even in social discourse. Consider the following quotes:
“A country producing almost 360 different types of cheese cannot die.” — Winston Churchill
“How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?” – Charles de Gaulle
“A meal without cheese is a beautiful woman with an eye missing” — Brillat Savarin, 19th-century epicure and gastronome
Currently, France makes more than 1,000 types of cheeses and recently revived a cheese that hasn’t been made for more than 200 years. Fromage de Clon, also known as the cheese of popes and kings, has reappeared thanks to historian Jerome Dupasquier, who found a recipe in a dusty box.
To get acquainted with some of the world’s best cheeses, find a cheese shop and arrange for a tasting. Plan a cheese party with friends, or visit the imported cheese section at an upscale grocery store and invest in a half-dozen cheeses you’ve never tried. Then, look them up on the Internet. Being well-informed goes a long way with clients who expect the best.
After providing brokerage services in Beverly Hills for more than 20 years and owning a successful executive coaching firm, Ron and Alexandra Seigel became co-founding partners of Napa Consultants, International, a strategic business development venture. Visit them at their blog, “The Language of Luxury,” www.napaconsultants.com.