Canyon of Cheese

Former Chico theater geek and barista extraordinaire Bryce Allemann and his college sweetheart, Kathy Hicks, left Chico to see the world, eventually ending up in the San Francisco Bay Area (first in S.F., now Oakland), where they’ve kept busy starting and maintaining the well-respected Thunderbird Theatre Co. Of course, anyone who knows the couple knows that their real raison d’être is entertaining guests, and it is in that party setting where Allemann has been able to share the fruits of a lifelong obsession born during a visit to Switzerland at the age of 7: cheese. That’s right, cheese. And with the same endearing (and infectiously dramatic) demeanor he presents as party host, Allemann is now using the Internet to expand upon his cheese passions. A couple times per week, Allemann’s Canyon of Cheese blog features new posts that tell various stories of cheese—including its history, science and any related personal anecdotes. There are also recipes for cheese (cheese biscuit cookies, anyone?), great photos of cheese and, of course, conversations with his “Inner-Cheese Voice.” Two of his guidelines for the blog are: “Do not assume that anyone who reads this knows anything about any subject (cheese-related or not)” and “don’t underestimate the knowledge of the readers.” That sort of approachable scholarliness mixes well with Allemann’s fun, quirky personality.