Cheese Counter Mechanics with BOSKA Pro – Tips to Boost Sales & Improve Efficiency

Welcome, everybody!
Good evening to all the cheesemongers, chefs, and lovely people who want to use fantastic cheese tools. This evening, we’re hosting a very special trade webinar. It’s invite-only for people working behind the counter or those using cheese tools regularly. So, a very warm welcome to all!

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Tracy Colley, Director of The Academy of Cheese. We’ve been going strong since May 2017. Just the other day, we reached over 5,290 people studying with us from 91 different countries!

We are absolutely delighted to have BOSKA as one of our patrons this year. They’ve been around for many, many years, and we’re going to hear all about that from Tom and Eleftheria in just a minute. They’ve set up a magnificent display for tonight, and you can see the glow of orange above my head. (And no, it’s not just my hair!) That glow is from all the beautiful cheeses on display.

Eleftheria will tell you more about this shortly. There’s also a quiz this evening, and you could win some BOSKA tools! We’ve been using these tools at the World Cheese Awards and the Young Cheesemonger of the Year competition, and they’re absolutely excellent! We’re loving them and hope you’ll enjoy learning about them, and maybe even winning a set.

The quiz is multiple-choice with 15 fun questions. Stay alert throughout the webinar for your best chance to win!

Now, I’ll hand over to the gorgeous, talented Eleftheria, who’s joining us live from the Netherlands. Let me spotlight you… Welcome, Eleftheria!

Eleftheria:
Hello everyone! Thank you, Tracy, for that lovely introduction. And thank you all for joining this evening. I hope you’ve had a great start to your week so far!

We’re so happy to be here with this first-ever collaboration between The Academy of Cheese from the UK and BOSKA from the Netherlands. We’re very excited about tonight’s event, so let me start by thanking Tracy and Rachel from The Academy for giving us this opportunity. We’re going to have some fun tonight, for sure.

So, what can you expect this evening? First, I’ll give you a short introduction to BOSKA as a brand. Then my colleague, Tom, will take you on a short but sweet journey through everything you need to know about our favourite cheese counter tools and cutting tools.

We love cheese — so much so that we decided to take it upon ourselves to show the world how cool cheese is! The legacy of BOSKA started way back in 1896. It all began with a cheese lover and blacksmith named Willem Bos, who designed the first cheese tools to help cheese traders and farmers.

BOSKA started in a small town called Bodegraven, and let me tell you — there’s no place in the world where as much cheese is stored as here in Bodegraven! The cheese market has been thriving here for hundreds of years, and Willem designed his first cheese tools to support that market.

You might already be familiar with one of his designs — the Dutch cheese knife. I dare say there’s no cheese shop in the Netherlands without this knife. This is our legacy, and it’s sharp (literally and figuratively!).

That innovative spirit of Willem Bos still drives us today. We’re still in Bodegraven, still designing our own tools, and we do it with a focus on distinctive quality. Professionals have been using our tools for years, and we’ve gained so much knowledge along the way. We aim to create tools with a timeless design, and we’ve even won a few awards for our efforts.

We want our tools to be fun and smart to use, and, of course, we also want them to be affordable. Our dream is to have a BOSKA counter tool on every cheese counter in the world — used by every cheesemonger out there! But not just cheesemongers! After two generations, the great-great-grandchild of Willem Bos took over the business and started spreading the cheesy word around the world.

Now, we also focus on the cheese lovers at home. That’s why we expanded our product line to include things like cheese fondue sets, cheese boards, chocolate fondue sets, knives, and even pizza tools!

That’s the short version of BOSKA as a brand.

Before I pass the camera to my colleague Tom, just a couple of quick notes. If you have any questions, feel free to pop them in the chat. We’ll either address them during the webinar or at the end. And as Tracy mentioned, we’ve got a fun quiz at the end of the session, and, of course, there will be a winner — who will get a prize!

One of the prizes is a set of BOSKA tools, including the Cheese Commander Pro. If you’re wondering what that is, Tom is going to tell you all about it, as well as the Brock Foil Dispenser from our 1896 collection. That’s it from me. Over to you, Tom!

Tom:
Thank you, Eleftheria, and thanks to everyone for joining us! Good evening, folks! I hope you’ve had a good start to your week, and let’s make it even better.

As Eleftheria mentioned, we’ve got a whole collection of tools here, and I’m going to walk you through them and explain why they’re so useful in your cheese shop. Our goal is to help you cut cheese more efficiently and reduce waste. Because, let’s face it — every bit of waste could have been sold!

Let’s start with the Dutch cheese knife. If you’ve ever tried to cut a wheel of Gouda with a big knife, you’ll know it’s hard. People tend to start wiggling the knife, and that’s because cutting a big cheese wheel is difficult.

Willem Bos, our founder, thought: “There must be a better way.” And that’s where the Dutch cheese knife comes in. It’s bent, unlike a regular straight knife. When you use it, all the force is focused on one point, making it easier to cut through the cheese. This design also helps reduce strain on the user, making it ideal for anyone working in a cheese shop.

Now, let me introduce you to the Cheese-o-Matic! Initially, the Cheese-o-Matic was a simple wooden board with a wire attached, but today it’s evolved into something more high-tech. One of its key features is that it cuts with a wire, which is strong but not sharp. This makes it safer to use, and even a 15-year-old who just got a job in a cheese shop can handle it easily. The wire makes cutting quick and effortless, with very little learning curve.

Another feature is that the Cheese-o-Matic doubles as a cutting board. So, even if space is limited in your shop, this tool doesn’t take up extra room. Plus, it has a short wire with a spring mechanism, allowing it to cut large cheeses without taking up too much counter space.

If the wire breaks — don’t worry! I’ll show you how easy it is to replace the wire in just a few steps. (Tom demonstrates how to change the wire on the Cheese-o-Matic.)

Next up is the Cheese Commander Pro, which is a simpler version of the Cheese-o-Matic. It’s designed for smaller cheeses, and the handle is placed differently to allow for one-handed operation. It’s unbreakable, making it a workhorse for busy shops. When things get hectic, you can grab the Cheese Commander Pro from under the counter and get to work.

Now, I’ve cut half a wheel of Gouda. So, what’s the next step? You want to remove the heart of the cheese — that’s the best part! The cheese ripens from the outside in, and the heart is the tastiest bit. By cutting the cheese into wedges with a blunt tip, you avoid the sharp points that dry out the quickest.

Let’s move on to the Block Buster, a tool that lets you cut cheese into perfect little tasting blocks. It’s great for letting customers sample the heart of the cheese, the best part. The Block Buster can cut 8mm, 16mm, or 24mm blocks, as well as fries and slices. If a wire breaks, you can easily replace it and continue cutting.

Now, let’s talk about the Brock Foil Dispenser. It’s a bit heavy, but that’s a good thing because it won’t move around on your counter. It has anti-static properties, so the foil won’t roll back, and sharp teeth for easy tearing. It’s ideal for quickly wrapping cheese while keeping things tidy and efficient.

Lastly, we have a variety of cheese knives and coloured cutting boards, each designed to prevent cross-contamination between different types of cheese. For example, red for washed rind cheeses, white for bloomy rind, and blue for blue cheeses. You can also use these knives to cut packaging like aluminium foil without dulling the blade.

One last tool I’ll mention is the Rock Force. It’s perfect for cutting soft, delicate cheeses like Roquefort or Blue Stilton. The wire cuts through the cheese cleanly, and the cutting plateau has grooves to catch any moisture.

That’s all from me! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And don’t forget the quiz at the end of the webinar — there are some fantastic BOSKA tools to be won!