It’s true guys. Tears, real ones – pooled up in my little eyeballs all because of cheese. Well, the man behind the cheese. It all started on my final day in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago when I had signed up to take a foodie tour around the city let by Winter Redd because lets be real, when given the opportunity to eat the best food all around a city, you do it.
We made our way to our first stop, Les Madeleines, a cute little cafe for breakfast where I tried to order macaroni and cheese but unfortunately they had to say no because “it was only 9:30 am”. Turns out it didn’t even matter because the ham and cheese breakfast sandwich I received with a side of a mighty fine tasting pastry was absolutely incredible and my mouth is still watering because of it.
Our next stop, Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli is where ish got real. We were greeted by Mr. Caputo’s son, Matt, who took us on a behind the scenes tour of the market, starting with their cheese caves. Yes, I said cheese cave. It is in these magical rooms that they age their own cheeses and make beautiful beautiful things that we humans then put in our mouths with zero regret. Fortunately we were able to sample several of the cheeses and there were a lot of “mmmmmmmmmmmmm, so good” lines being spoken because us women get emotional about this kind of stuff.
Before departing, Matt also volunteered to take us on a little tasting of only the finest chocolate’s in the world and because we aren’t idiots, we jumped at the opportunity. It was somewhere between him telling us the difference between cocao and vanilla and his dad, Mr. Caputo himself, joking around with a younger employee behind the counter that I got completely misty eyed and taken aback from this whole situation. Why you ask? Because of the passion that lived in these people. It was truly one of the greatest displays of somebody who is doing exactly what they were born to do, they do it well and who remain so grateful that this is how they get to spend their every day. I just kept standing there, watching and listening to Matt talk about their processes, seeing the enthusiasm and passion pour out of him and thinking “wow – so this is what it’s like..”
And it all started with a block of cheese.
Even though the days prior to this I had sat in big fancy conference rooms listening to amazing speakers, this moment taught me so much more than any PowerPoint presentation or Snapchat 101 class ever could. I want to be Tony and Matt, the dudes who pour their heart and souls into this thing that has become their passion and by doing so, makes the lives of so many people who stop in for whatever it is they need that day so much brighter just by doing what they love.
That was some good stuff right there people. Oh and the chocolate we tasted was pretty incredible too.
Speaking of chocolate, our last stop on the food tour was at V’s Chocolates – a real life chocolate factory straight out of Willy Wonka.
We got to go right in the thick of where all of the chocolate deliciousness is made AND have a plastic bag in hand to just fill up with whatever the heck we wanted. Basically all of my wildest childhood dreams came true in this very moment. Caramels? Sure! Peanut butter cups? Load me up! Cute little hearts? I’ll take 20! Coconut clusters? 20 more! Peppermint bark? Like it’s even a question!
It was such a fun experience to spend the day with new friends who were all super trendy and hot.
If you got it, flaunt it. Hairnets and all.
And that my friends, concludes today’s post about the power of passion and really awesome food. Carry on now.
Founder and creator of LIY, Erin turned her dream of a hobby blog into a full-time career which she now runs alongside the LIY team! When not in front of her computer screen [with a La Croix or wine in hand] or in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies, you can find Erin spending time on the water, cuddled up with her two pups and husband most likely watching the latest Shark Tank episode, or getting lost in an easy beach read.
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