Max McCalman

Career in cheese

After graduating from Hendrix College, McCalman's career path led him into the hotel and hospitality industry. Here he started learning about fine wines and after stints in Arkansas, Texas, and New Jersey, he became Maître d'Hotel at the New York Hilton in 1988. He kept on building his wine acumen and in 1990 became the General Manager of Manhattan's The Water Club. He remained there until the birth of his daughter in 1992, which led to his decision to become a full-time father for two years. He then joined Picholine Restaurant as Maître d'Hotel and, along with Terrance Brennan, launched its cheese service in 1995. He spearheaded the installment of the first temperature and humidity controlled cheese cave in a North American restaurant in late 1995, making him one of the trailblazers of a then almost unexplored cheese world.

During the early 2000s McCalman started authoring his first of four books, The Cheese Plate. At around the same time he was an essential part in the planning and designing of the Artisanal Bistro. After the opening of the Bistro, McCalman started work on his second book, Cheese - A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best. Due to the enormous growth in demand for artisan cheese, the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center was founded in 2002. Here McCalman worked in the capacity of Maître Fromager and Dean of Curriculum and was integral to the planning and operating of the enterprise. He remained in these roles until 2014, when he decided to separate himself from the Center and focus his attention on the creative side of his work. Under his new company, MAXVOL, Inc., he is now teaching classes, hosting corporate and private events, writing articles, authoring books, and guest speaking around the country as an often called-upon expert for all matters cheese. The topics McCalman talks about include affinage, cheese and beverage pairings, cheese making, food safety, nutrition, as well as transportation and storage, amongst many others. Besides all topics cheese, McCalman is also an authority on the art of discovering the perfect wine and cheese pairings.

McCalman has been a driving force behind the creation of the official certification program of the American Cheese Society and has been the Chairman of the Certified Cheese Professional Committee since 2012.

In the spring of 2015, McCalman joined the Institute of Culinary Education faculty as Director of Cheese Studies and will begin teaching courses in June.

During the American Cheese Society Conference 2016 in Des Moines, IA, McCalman was appointed to the American Cheese Society Board of Directors.

Miscellaneous

McCalman was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but spent his childhood living in Brazil. He still has strong ties to Brazil and says that his knack for languages comes from the early exposure to Portuguese. McCalman has proficient conversational knowledge in six languages.

In May 2015 McCalman took his successful Swatchbook digital and launched his first cheese and wine pairing app on the App Store.

Awards and honors

Books and publications