quiche in a parallelogram shaped pan

Brunching, part 1: Quiche

First We Eat: Build it properly with a wall of flavours, and real men can and will eat quiche

When Dave and I started to plan a recent family gathering, we quickly realized a daytime event was more likely to suit our guests than an evening supper. Even as the sun moves back north and daylight hours lengthen, time spent talking after eating often means our guests would face a drive home on gravel […] Read more

(Saputo Cheese USA video screengrab via YouTube)

Saputo to consolidate U.S. cheesemaking, shut three plants

Plans include one new plant, one repurposed

The Canadian company ranked among the three biggest cheesemakers in the U.S. is preparing to consolidate five of its cheese plants in that country down to two. Montreal-based Saputo announced last Thursday it has construction underway on a new $240 million cut-and-wrap cheese plant in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin, to be up and running […] Read more


(AgropurSolutions.ca)

Agropur cheese plant workers take deal, halt strike

Milk not taken at Granby, Que. plant for over five weeks

Milk delivery to a major cheese plant in Eastern Canada is expected to resume soon as unionized employees at dairy co-operative Agropur’s facility at Granby, Que. end a five-and-a-half-week strike. The plant’s 250-odd workers, represented by the Syndicat des salaries de la fromagerie — an arm of Centrale des syndicats democratiques (CSD) — have voted […] Read more

Video screengrab of Michael Palin (l) and John Cleese in the Cheese Shop sketch on Monty Python’s Flying Circus in 1972.

Saputo to buy British cheesemaker Wensleydale

Canadian dairy firm expands U.K. assets

One of the world’s largest dairy processors is set to expand its reach further into the U.K. with a deal for the maker of Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. Montreal-based Saputo announced Monday it has an all-cash deal in place to buy Wensleydale Dairy Products Ltd. for 23 million pounds (about C$39.7 million). Pending U.K. regulatory approvals, […] Read more


A Pizza Pizza storefront in Winnipeg in 2013. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Blue Cow comes to Pizza Pizza

Dairy Farmers of Canada branding to go on display

Pizza Pizza is the latest brand to sport Dairy Farmers of Canada’s “Blue Cow” certification-of-origin mark in its marketing, putting an old fight over the pizza chain’s cheese provenance to rest. DFC and Toronto-based, TSX-traded Pizza Pizza — which as of March 31 included 622 Pizza Pizza and 103 Pizza 73 outlets across eight provinces […] Read more

Classic cheese fondue

Classic cheese fondue

First We Eat: Now is the perfect time to enjoy a leisurely fondue
as we continue to stay closer to home

Life in a pandemic takes its toll in many ways. One of the noticeable changes is how we spend our leisure time. No trips this year — not that I was actively planning, and not that I go often, but I’d love to see Europe again. I want to see Asia, too, and Australia, Africa, […] Read more


Violife’s vegan cheese-substitute lines include cheddar-style slices. (ViolifeFoods.com)

Becel maker Upfield to relocate Ontario plant

Company to make vegan cheese substitutes, other spreads at Brantford

The maker of Becel margarine, Imperial spreads and, most recently, vegan near-cheese Violife plans to boost its Canadian manufacturing capacity with a move from Toronto to Brantford, Ont. The Canadian arm of Amsterdam-based Upfield said Wednesday it has bought a 164,000-square foot industrial building at Brantford and “brings a significant investment involving the purchase of […] Read more

Kraft’s Canadian grated cheese lines are among the businesses going to Lactalis for US$3.2 billion. (KraftWhatsCooking.ca)

Kraft Heinz to sell several cheese businesses to Lactalis

Canadian grated cheese lines among assets going for US$3.2 billion

Chicago | Reuters — Kraft Heinz said on Tuesday that it will sell several of its cheese businesses to a U.S. affiliate of France’s Groupe Lactalis for US$3.2 billion. After weak sales results and several billion-dollar writedowns over the past two years, there has been market speculation about which categories Kraft Heinz will offload from […] Read more



Champagne vineyards at Montagne de Reims, France. (Southtownboy/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. vows 100 per cent tariffs on France’s champagne, cheese over digital tax

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100 per cent on US$2.4 billion in imports from France of champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its […] Read more