Clinton Township Newsletter

2 8 m a r c h 2 0 2 3 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M Happy St. Prick's Day! It's not often that you get to chat about some of your favorite things in the world... cheese and fine housewares – and Fourchette has both in spades. One of the absolute delights of Clinton, Fourchette Cheese Shop is celebrating its ten year anniversary, and we are here for it! C3Q talks with shop owners and cheese connoisseurs, Meredith Hyland and Brahim Sadouni, whose shop at 36 Main Street in Clinton is full of beautiful curated cheeses, gourmet olive oils and vinegars, and fine housewares. C3Q: Congratulations on ten years in Clinton with your shop Fourchette! How are you celebrating? MH: We're having a ribbon cutting on March 4 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm with the Mayor and Town Council, and along with the ribbon cutting, a cheese cutting! It's going to be a big party. We're serving an epic cheese table, and it will be a wonderful celebration with those who have supported us throughout the years. I [Meredith] have lived here in Clinton since I was a teenager, and m y h u s b a n d m o v e d h e r e f r o m F r a n c e after we met in Paris in 2008. Previously, I was a corporate banker, a n d t h a t f i n a n c i a l background really gave me a good foundation for running a business. We love Clinton; one day we were thinking about our business plan and eating lunch at the restaurant Dora, and saw the 'for rent' sign in the window of the building across the street, and it was just fate. Eight years later, we were able to buy the building, which we gratefully did. I'm a big believer in fate and timing; that's our philosophy for our other stores as well. In 2020, we expanded to Beach Haven, LBI (where we often run into Clinton residents!) and this year, we are expanding to Red Bank, NJ. C3Q: For years, I've been a huge fan of your cheeses, and I can say your shop has really expanded my palate. I also love your housewares and overall aesthetic; I have so many lovely things in my home which came from Fourchette, and have given so many hostess gifts from your shop. It must be so hard to edit and choose wonderful things, how do you select your items? MH: We love to celebrate cheese. I love all the cheeses; I have never met a cheese I didn't like. My favorite cheese is called Screamer, and it's a triple cream from Switzerland; uber creamy and slightly funky on the outside... it's got some pungency to it. Brahim's favorite is Comte, which is our most popular cheese. We buy the oldest one on the market, which is aged for 27 months. It's got some nice nuttiness to it, and the crystallization from the aging is crystalized protein, and we sell about 40 lbs a week. With our cheese, we are curating the best of the best, not things you can find in a grocery store; we have hard-to- find and interesting cheeses. Our clientele is very mixed; our philosophy is that cheese should never be intimidating; we love to introduce people to new things. We also get die-hard cheese aficionados who travel to us, because there aren't many cheese shops. We've always carried fine linens and pantry items, and our olive oil and vinegars have a cult following. In 2018, we decided to expand, and broke through the brick wall into the next-door space, and expanded into carrying some furniture items, more linens, and other housewares. Many of the housewares that are in the shop are things that I personally curate. If there's something unique that we have, chances are that it started in my house! Some of my favorites are the pottery guinea hens, which are from a single family of artisans from Provence in the South of France. Other items, we found in our travels, such as the framed feather portraits that we found when visiting wine country in California. Once a year, we take a vacation to a place where we think we'll find new and interesting pieces. A few years ago, in Koh Samui, Thailand, we were sitting at the resort, chatting with an English couple, and that's how we found one of our favorite cheeses, Snowdonia Cheddar. We find inspiration wherever we go. C3Q: The last few years have been very challenging for small businesses in many ways; what has your experience been like? MH: It's definitely been challenging, and we work closely with really great suppliers. International shipping has of course been challenging, but domestic shipping is challenging as well, and the cost has increased by 50% in the past three years, which we try to absorb as much as we can. It's a difficult time for both shops and suppliers. For example, a supplier that we worked with for ten years gave me a call right before Christmas and said that they would not be able to make their delivery on time for the Christmas order. I drove to the warehouse two hours away, and packed it myself into my car, loaded with refrigerator boxes, so that our customers would be able to buy their holiday cheese. C3Q: I love it! This has the makings of a Hallmark Christmas movie, but cheese-themed! I can see that you are very devoted to your business and customers. MH: Clinton is really our home. We live here, and are part of the community. We can't think of a better place to have our shop. We hope to be around for a long time to come, and we think the spirit of Clinton is really alive; we love being part of a small business community, and it's a great destination if you are a foodie. C3Q: Thank you so much, Meredith and Brahim, and Cheers to Ten Years! Rachel Sprague, a resident of Clinton Township, has a degree in journalism from Rutgers. With her husband Russell, Rachel is raising two young children in the Clinton Township School District. She thinks that Clinton Township is a delightful place to live. Fourchette Cheese Shop owners Meredith Hyland and Brahim Sadouni The Comte maturing caves in France Welcome to with Rachel Sprague * C linton ree Questions * Taylor Made Board Screamer Cheese

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