Daphne Zepos
Affinage Consultant, Faculty Member
From April 2003 to October 2005 fromager Daphne Zepos played a lead role at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center. She selected and matured more than 300 cheeses in Artisanal Premium Cheese Center's state-of-the-art cheese caves, assembled many cheese collections, created the affinage internship program and, with the support of Max MacCalman, started Artisanal's Master Class. She now consults at the Center in affinage matters and has become an integral member of the education program. She teaches several classes each month for consumer and professional audiences.
In addition to her work at the Artisanal Premium Cheese, Daphne ranks among the most outspoken and dynamic cheese advocates in the United States and is frequently called upon to judge national and international cheese competitions. She is a former board member for the American Cheese Society, and was Chairperson of the Society's annual national artisanal cheese competition from 1999 to 2002. Daphne is a co-founder of the Cheese of Choice Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated the preservation of raw milk and small production cheeses.
Daphne trained as a chef at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education) and began her career at San Francisco's acclaimed Campton Place restaurant, where she worked under Todd Humphries, Jan Birnbaum, and Laurent Manrique. During this time, she developed an intense passion for fine cheeses and, following extensive hands-on research in Europe and an internship at London's world-renowned Neal's Yard Dairy, she developed Campton Place's critically-acclaimed cheese service. Daphne also served as a consultant and spokesperson for the California Milk Advisory Board.
In February 2006, she founded the Essex Street Cheese Company, which imports one single cheese from France: a hand selected Comte from the Jura Mountains.
Daphne lives in Brooklyn and is married to the American artist Brad Brown. |
