Winter 2023 | Edible Notables

Wander to the Wheyfarer

Reno cheese shop sells cut-to-order fromage from around the globe.

During the pandemic, New Orleans-based pastry chef Amy Lemon found herself hunkering down with her parents in Reno.

“I fell in love with Reno,” admits Lemon, who now is the owner of The Wheyfarer Cheese and Specialty Foods, which opened in October 2022.

For two decades, Lemon worked as a pastry chef in fast-paced kitchens, with 13 years of them spent in Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans restaurants, NOLA and Emeril’s Delmonico.

“In fine-dining establishments, the pastry chef’s job is usually to take care of the cheese plate, and that’s how I fell in love with cheese,” Lemon says. “I noticed that Reno didn’t have a cheese shop, and I felt like it’s a diverse enough area to be able to sustain a business like that.”

After finally landing the perfect Midtown location on California Avenue, Lemon sourced cheeses from around the world, along with a curated selection of wines, jams, crackers, and pickled goods.

“It’s a true cut-and-wrap cheese shop, so that means people can come in and try the cheese, and we can cut it to whatever size they’re looking for,” Lemon explains. “Keeping the wheels whole helps maintain the quality, and it’s also less packaging for the planet.”

Lemon and her staff of cheesemongers engage with customers to understand what flavors they like in their cheeses in hopes of turning them on to new varieties.

“We try to talk people through the cheeses without it being a pretentious experience or overwhelming. Usually, we have about 80 to 100 cheeses in the shop at a time,” Lemon says. “When people do cheese boards, I try to suggest a goat, a sheep, and a cow cheese.”

Customers can get guidance on a cheese board to serve at home or enjoy one in the shop alongside a rotation of specialty paninis and salads and drinks (with and without alcohol).

For the winter months, Lemon often recommends Brillat Savarin, a decadent French triple cream crusted with cranberries; the green-and-white marbled sage Derby, a famous British, herby cow’s milk cheese; and Noord Hollander aged Gouda, a four-year-old cheese with a rich caramel flavor and crunchy tyrosine crystals. The Swiss Alps-made chällerhocker (pronounced “holler hocker”), which translates to “sitting in the cellar,” is another favorite of Lemon.

“A lot of people don’t realize that there’s such a variety of Swiss cheeses. This cheese is smooth and nutty and doesn’t have quite the number of holes in it — it’s just this perfect, nutty, sharp cheese,” Lemons says. “People are like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize I liked Swiss cheese!’”

The Wheyfarer also offers charcuterie and cheese boards, tapas, and sandwich platters for events of all sizes, perfect for the holiday season. Gift baskets filled with gourmet goods and classes (such as cheesemaking) for private groups also make great gifts for the foodie in your life.

The Wheyfarer Cheese and Specialty Foods
24 California Ave., Ste. B, Reno
775-622-8320 · Thewheyfarer.com