Cheese, Wine, and Wisdom

Words By Ruba

On May 1st, Cin Cin welcomed Afrim Pristine, owner of Cheese Boutique in Toronto’s west end, for an intimate gathering where guests were taken on a journey around the world in seven cheeses.

Over its 55 year, multi-generational history, Cheese Boutique has grown into a Toronto epicurean institution of high quality food. With over 500 types of cheese available at the boutique at any given time, including some of the best and rarest cheeses in the world, Cheese Boutique is the go-to place for chefs, celebrities, restaurants, specialty grocers and cheese lovers from far and wide.

Third-generation owner and affineur Afrim Pristine is the face of the company today. In his 20’s, Afrim travelled across Europe to learn from the best cheesemakers. At the age of 32, he became the youngest person in the world to receive the Maître Fromager designation from the France-based Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. Today, Afrim travels the world tasting cheese and bringing the best cheeses to the local market. In 2018, Afrim published For the Love of Cheese: Recipes and Wisdom from the Cheese Boutique. Afrim also hosted a 6-part docuseries, Cheese: A Love Story, with Food Network Canada. The series, which was released in 2021, took viewers to iconic cheese locations around the world where Afrim met with cheesemakers, affineurs, chefs and shop owners for an in-depth look at the cheese traditions of different cultures.

Guests at the Cin Cin event tasted superstar goat, sheep and cow milk cheeses from France, Italy, Ireland and Holland, as well as a small production cheese from Fromagerie du Presbytère in Québec, the most awarded dairy in Canadian history. All seven cheeses are imported by Cheese Boutique directly from the farms, thanks to the relationships that the Pristine family has nurtured over many years. Guests enjoyed wines selected by Afrim, as well gourmet accompaniments including in-house baked breads and crackers, honeycomb, almonds, olives and chocolate from Cheese Boutique. Afrim also guided guests on a tasting of three of the world’s best cured hams. With Afrim’s encyclopedic knowledge of cheese and endless stories to tell, having personally visited the dairies themselves, the evening proved to be both enriching and entertaining.