The compelling, funny story of a high-powered professional’s life-changing journey from Manhattan big cheese to Vermont goat cheesemaker
In the tradition of food memoirs like Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence, Hay Fever tells the story of New York City literary agent Angela Miller and how looking for tranquility on a Vermont farm turned into an eye-opening, life-changing experience. Seeking solace in the midst of midlife strife brought on by family stress and a high-stakes career, Miller and her husband bought a farm in rural Vermont.
But what started as a part time “project” turned into a full-blown obsession and culinary passion that not only changed their lives forever, but also resulted in some of America’s best cheeses, prestigious awards, and media fame. Today, cheeses from Consider Bardwell Farm are featured at some of the country’s best restaurants, including Jean Georges, Daniel, and The French Laundry.
• For cheese lovers and would-be farmers, it’s an inside look at the everyday operation of a successful and growing dairy farm
• Author Angela Miller, literary agent in New York City, has won prestigious awards for her cheeses and has been featured in such publications as the Boston Globe, the New York Times, Travel & Leisure, and Martha Stewart Living
• More than a memoir—the book includes recipes from the author and top food personalities like Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Hay Fever is an inspiring and entertaining memoir that will whet the appetite of food lovers and would-be farmers from coast to coast.
INTRODUCTION: From Where I Stand.
ONE: Green Mountain High.
TWO: As Far as the Eye Can See.
THREE: Farm Team.
FOUR: The New Kids.
FIVE: Milk Maids.
SIX: What West Pawlet Needs is a Café.
SEVEN: Chasing the Cheese Maker.
EIGHT: The Little Farm that Could.
NINE: Husbandry.
TEN: The Way of the Cheese Master.
ELEVEN: Mating Game.
TWELVE: Is Anyone Tasting the Cheese?
THIRTEEN: Trimming Trees and Costs.
FOURTEEN: Guests at the Farm.
FIFTEEN: Sell, Cut, or Perish.
SIXTEEN: Accolades and Accusations.
SEVENTEEN: Endings and Beginnings
RECIPES.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
INDEX.
Angela Miller is a literary agent based in New York City and the owner of Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont. Her cheeses are featured on the menus of some of the finest restaurants in the country, including The French Laundry, Per Se, Daniel, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Jean Georges. Consider Bardwell Farm has won several prestigious awards from the American Cheese Society. Read her blog at considerbardwellfarm.com and follow her on Facebook/ConsiderBardwellFarm and on Twitter/considercheese.
Ralph Gardner Jr. is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, New York magazine, and the New York Observer.
Do you dream of escaping the big city for a bucolic farm in the country? To grow vegetables, raise a few animals, and maybe even learn to make cheese? It would be a relaxing, simple life . . . wouldn’t it? Hay Fever tells the story of one prominent Manhattan professional who gave it a shot—and discovered that the “simple life” is often anything but. Seeking escape and diversion from family pressures, a demanding career, and an unfulfilling social life, Angela Miller and her husband set their sites on a charming nineteenth-century farm in Vermont. They got much more than they bargained for. What began as an innocent project to restore their new country home became a full-blown obsession that led to a successful artisanal cheese-making business—all while Miller kept her job in New York City. Starting with a small herd of goats (the “girls”), Consider Bardwell Farm has grown to become one of the country’s best artisanal cheese producers—but with plenty of hard work and minor disasters along the way. Today, Miller’s cheeses are served in many of the finest restaurants, including Daniel and The French Laundry. This inspiring and funny tale reveals the inner workings of a growing, award-winning dairy farm and the painstaking effort and attention to detail that goes into every bite of cheese. For the cheese cravings the book is bound to stir up, Miller includes a handful of her own delicious recipes and those of food celebrities like Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Miller is constantly asked: How do you sustain both a challenging career in the city and life in the country while ultimately making such great cheese? Hay Fever is her personal, entertaining story—perhaps a cautionary tale for some, but for many others just the motivation needed to explore a new culinary adventure, form a closer connection to food, and ultimately pursue a second or third “act” in life that is more fulfilling than simple “work.”
"Angela is both a Vermont neighbor and long-time friend, and her conversion from city girl to cheesemaker extraordinaire is one of the great success stories of our part of the world. Besides, the pleasure I get from driving by her old farm, which has been lovingly restored and put back into operation, is a pleasure beyond words."
—Christopher Kimball, America's Test Kitchen Founder
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Distributor: John Wiley & Sons
Publication Date: 04-12-2010
Pages: 304
Measurements: 236.20mm X 160.0mm X 30.5mm X 21.44oz
