Hotel Roger Willimas to Launch Cheese and WIne Tastings with World-Renowned Maitre Fromager Max McCa

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. October 14, 2008

NEW YORK, NY, August 3, 2005. Cheese anyone? Beginning in November, New York's "The Roger," (Hotel Roger Williams) will host monthly tastings specially created by the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center team and headed up by renowned Ma^itre Fromager Max McCalman. The tasty program will offer guests and locals a chance to sample an array of Max's international cheeses and, on occasion, meet the "cheese maestro" himself in the comfort of this hip, cozy hotel.

The Goal? To help, as Max says, "spread the curd!"

Each month Max will pair five delectable cheeses with two wine selections chosen from the Roger Hotel's exclusive wine list. The special cheese menu will be available daily in the Roger's Mezzanine Lounge and through room service. Max will change the menu monthly and at that time a revered member of his team -- and on select occasions Max himself -- will be on hand to host one-hour cheese and wine tasting seminars for guests and the general public for $25 per person. The tastings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. beginning November 1 (Max will be present for this kick-off event).

A sampling of Max's cheese pairings include:

Tulocay Chardonnay paired with:

Bouc Emissaire - goat, Quebec

Fougerus - cow, France

Mahon - cow, Menorca

Julienas paired with:

Durrus - cow, Ireland

Appenzeller - cow, Switzerland

Peral - cow / sheep, Spain

About Max McCalman

Renowned as one of the cheese world's living legends for his expertise, insight and passion, Max McCalman is dedicated to helping others understand and enjoy the unique pleasures of artisanal cheeses. As America's first restaurant-based Ma^itre Fromager and a Garde et Jure as designated by France 's exclusive Guilde des Fromagers, Max established the critically acclaimed cheese programs at New York City's Picholine and Artisanal restaurants over the past decade and has become a highly visible advocate for artisanal cheese production around the world.

A veteran of the food and hospitality industries, Max has spent most of his professional life as a Ma^itre d' Hotel and Sommelier. He served as General Manager of The Water Club in the early 1990s and joined Picholine in 1994 where, as Ma^itre d', he became a dedicated scholar of artisanal cheeses and created that restaurant's fabled cheese program with Chef-Proprietor Terrance Brennan.

As Dean of Curriculum at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, Max is leading the charge to raise awareness and spread the joys of artisanal cheeses to consumer and professional audiences with a distinctive, engaging style that suggests equal parts possession and obsession. Max also serves as a consultant to the trade and is a lecturer and teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump's New York Cooking School), the Culinary Institute of America, New York University, the DeGustibus Chef's Tasting Series, The New School, and Walt Disney World. He has been featured on the Television Food Network, the CBS Evening News, the Cable News Network, and Martha Stewart Living Television.

Max's first book, The Cheese Plate (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2002), was nominated for awards from the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Cooking Professionals. His next project, Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best, an expansive reference on the world 's finest cheese and wine-cheese pairings, will be published in August 2005.