London’s original cheese conveyor belt restaurant, Pick & Cheese, is crossing the Atlantic – with its first-ever U.S. location opening next year in New York City. Founded by cheese connoisseur Mathew Carver who is renowned for championing local cheesemakers, the restaurant will be working exclusively with independent American producers.
Opening in the heart of the city, Pick & Cheese will be housed within Shaver Hall, a new culinary destination within the historic Lord & Taylor building. Overlooking the iconic Fifth Avenue, guests can pull up a stool at the 60-meter sushi-style conveyor belt, the biggest yet, and watch as plates of small producer cheese and seasonal pairings pass by their eyes – but this time, it’s all about celebrating the best of American cheese.
This expansion is the result of over a year’s research – and a lot of eating. Mathew and his team have made several trips to the U.S., visiting farms, cheesemakers, and affineurs across the Northeast to learn first-hand about the region’s rich (and often underrated) cheese culture.
Guests can expect the likes of St Stephen, a triple creme cheese made with Jersey milk and cream from Four Fat Fowl in the Hudson Valley, the award-winning Intergalactic from Perrystead, a soft lactic cow’s milk cheese made in Pennsylvania as well as Jakes Gouda, a proper aged farmhouse gouda, with those familiar sweet caramel flavours and a salty punch, made in Upstate New York.
“We didn’t just want to show up and serve any old cheese,” says Carver. “We wanted to meet the people behind it -to understand the land, the milk, and the makers. What we found is an incredibly passionate, innovative community that’s making cheese every bit as exciting as what we’ve seen in the UK.” Founder Mathew Carver says.
“I first saw Pick & Cheese in an Instagram video over dinner one night, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” said Randy DeWitt, co-founder of The Food Hall Co. “I flew to London to meet with Mathew, and immediately knew this concept had the kind of energy we wanted for Shaver Hall. It offers an experience unlike anything New Yorkers have seen before.”
