Max McCalman is America’s first restaurant-based Maître Fromager, and Garde et Juré as designated by France's Guilde Internationale des Fromagers Comfrérie de Saint-Uguzon. McCalman, a veteran of the food and hospitality industries, spent most of his professional life as a Maître d' Hotel and Sommelier. He joined New York City-based restaurant Picholine in 1994 where, as Maître d'Hotel, he became a dedicated scholar of cheese and created that restaurant's fabled cheese program with Chef-Proprietor Terrance Brennan.
McCalman later established the critically acclaimed cheese programs at Artisanal Brasserie & Fromagerie restaurant, followed by the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, both in New York City. Picholine, Artisanal Brasserie and the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center created on-site “caves” to nurture cheeses to their peak stages of ripeness. This helped to create their world-renowned reputations for offering fabulous cheeses.
McCalman co-authored The Cheese Plate with David Gibbons (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2002) which was nominated for awards by the James Beard Foundation and by the International Association of Cooking Professionals (IACP). His second book, Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best (Clarkson Potter, 2005), an expansive reference on the world's finest cheeses and their wine pairings, won a 2006 James Beard Award. McCalman's next book,Mastering Cheese: Lessons For Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager (Clarkson Potter, 2009) won "Best in the World Book on Cheese" for 2011 from Gourmand International World Cook Book Awards announced in Paris in March 2011. It was a finalist in the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Food & Beverage Reference/Technical category for 2011.
As Dean of Curriculum, Director of Affinage and Maître Fromager at Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, McCalman leads the charge to raise awareness and spread the joys of cheese to consumers and professionals. He is a highly visible advocate for artisanal cheese production and is renowned as one of the cheese world’s living legends for his expertise, insight and passion.
McCalman received in January 2011 an award from Les Trophées de l'Espirit Alimentaire (French Food Spirit Awards) for Entrepreneurship for 2010. He was selected - with Paola Bonofante (for Science), Meryl Streep (for Culture), and Ariane Daugin (Special Award) - from 175 candidates from 40 countries. He was unanimously selected by a jury of 12 prominent members that included senior correspondent of CNN Europe Jim Bittermann, conductor William Christie, French actor François-Xavier Demaison, food researcher and sociologist at French Scientific Reserach Center (CNRS) Claude Fischler, and Nobel Prize winner in medicine, and a virologist, Stanley Prusiner, among others.
McCalman also serves as a consultant to the trade and is a frequent lecturer/teacher at various venues including The New School, the Culinary Institute of America in New York and in California, New York University, The Mediterranean Diet Conference sponsored by Oldways Preservation & Trust and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance, the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump's New York Cooking School), the DeGustibus Chef's Tasting Series, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), the Institut du Fromage, Epcot's Annual Food & Wine Festival, and the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, where he regularly teaches courses. He has made appearances on the Television Food Network, the CBS Evening News, the Cable News Network, the Daily Show, Martha Stewart Living Television, the Jon Stewart Show, and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and has been featured on various radio programs.
McCalman is a contributing editor to the leading cheese magazines: Culture and Cheese Connoisseur. Additionally, McCalman has been the subject in stories featured in many publications, ranging from the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to The Wine Spectator and Food & Wine.. McCalman frequently is a judge in cheese competitions both in the U.S. and Europe.
McCalman received his formal education at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. In 2010, Hendrix College awarded its Odyssey Medal to McCalman for his personal and professional life achievements. At Hendrix College, McCalman majored in Psychology (which has helped in his near two-decade-long quest to nurture cheeses). (See Max's acceptance speech at Hendrix College for the Odyssey Award on Founders Day 2010.)