Every time Janelle Norman bakes a fresh loaf of brioche, part of her wishes it would go missing the second she turns away from the kitchen counter. Brioche used to be her dog’s favorite bread to steal.
“This was a particularly upsetting habit because brioche takes two days and a whole lot of labor to make, so to see an entire loaf literally disappear in an instant was always demoralizing,” Norman said. “However, since he passed away in the fall of 2019 at the happy old age of 16 years, I have to admit I would love to turn around to him snagging a loaf off the counter.”
Upon opening an artisanal cheese shop in downtown Solvang, Norman decided to name her European-style storefront after her late furry companion, Cailloux (the French word for pebble)—whose naming was inspired by Norman’s passion for geology.
“I thought of the French translation of a few generic words like rock, pebble, etc. The name Cailloux stuck immediately,” said Norman, whose love of rocks and rock formations could only ever be rivaled by her love of cheese.
Most of Norman’s life could be described as a back-and-forth flux between these two passions, she explained. Her career in the cheese industry began at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont, where she worked as a cheesemaker.
“I loved it. We made a variety of farmstead cheddars, and I knew the cows we worked with well. It was a true artisanal operation,” said the New England native, who also spent a big chunk of time in Vermont earning her master’s degree in geology.
One of Norman’s graduate courses took her to study abroad in Nepal, where she collected rock samples to bring back to the U.S. to analyze—“for ages, signs of deformation, and mineral composition,” she said.
“During these field seasons, the porters would prepare me the simplest Nepali foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One of the staples of our lunches was yak milk cheese,” Norman recalled. “It is fabulous. A little sweet, a little tangy—similar to water buffalo milk—and a wonderful, creamy consistency. It was consistently my favorite part of our diet for those few months.”
After graduating from the University of Vermont, Norman moved to Austin, Texas, where she got a job as a cheesemonger at Antonelli’s Cheese Shop.
“I learned how to teach cheese classes there and how to manage a cheese shop,” Norman said. “As manager, I got to research new award-winning cheeses and work with chefs around Austin to create their cheese plate selections.”
Norman said the skills she learned at Antonelli’s still come in handy, especially when hosting her own weekly cheese classes at Cailloux, which usually occur during the evening on Thursdays or Fridays. As a special seasonal offering, Cailloux is basing its Dec. 12 workshop on celebratory holiday cheeses. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and promises guests a tasting of unique holiday-themed cheeses from around the world (admission is $35 per person).
In addition to the shop’s cheese classes, Cailloux also hosts guest lecturers and speakers on a wide variety of non-cheese-related topics every Sunday at 4 p.m.
Norman described the latter series as an outlet “for community engagement and education about any topic people have expertise on,” and are willing to lead an informal discussion on, she said.
“I am also in the process of firing up a food-focused book club at the shop that will read a wide variety of books related to food and the food industry, and we will meet at the shop once a month,” Norman said.
Of all the different selections of fresh-cut, artisanal cheeses Cailloux offers, Norman said her favorite kind is constantly fluctuating, based on her mood.
“I would have to say my favorite of the moment is Quadrello di bufala,” Norman revealed. “It has a sweet, custardy flavor with a slight yeasty note, almost like a bread starter. It makes my mouth water just thinking of it.”
Send cheesy puns to Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 2-9, 2021.