Because this is my first "Xombyte," and because hopefully you will return again and again to read my posts, I imagine an explanation is in order. After all, I may claim to be knowledgeable about food, but how can you, Dear Reader, be sure, without spending valuable minutes of your time reading my future articles?

So, here is a little bit about me, my experiences, and why I have chosen the path of food writing.

I have always had an adventurous attitude toward food, encouraged by my food-loving parents, who often brought my sister and I with them when they dined out. (It was cheaper than paying the babysitter.) When I was five years old, we were out for a fancy Christmas Eve dinner. As I ordered my appetizer of escargot, the waitress condescendingly remarked, "Honey, you don't really want that." My Father told her quite firmly that, yes, indeed, I knew exactly what I wanted. (I still do.)

To match that curiosity, I have been blessed with a highly sensitive palate. My poor Mom. I used to drive her nuts when I was a kid. Upon taking a sip of milk, I'd complain about it being spoiled. "It's fine!" she'd say, after trying it herself. Or, I'd take a bite of a sandwich and claim I tasted mold in the bread. Exasperated, again, she'd scold, "It's fine!" Each time, the next day the milk was turned and the bread was dotted with blue and green.

In-between eating snails and frowning at milk, I spent a lot of my childhood reading and writing. I learned to read at the age of three, and from then on, I was often found behind a book. (Still am.) When I was in the fourth grade, I had to get eyeglasses; the doctor said it was because I read too much. So, when my eyes became fatigued by the printed word, I made up stories for my amusement, with stuffed animals and Fisher-Price Little People playing the actors in my comedies and tragedies.

Flash forward to the summer of 1995, when I was 21 years old. I was living in a nice little town in Vermont, working in the produce department of the local food co-op. My manager was not able to give me the hours I needed to pay my bills, so I asked her what I should do. She recommended talking to Henry, the head of the cheese department.

Me: Hi, Henry. I need to work more hours, and I hear you need someone in your department. I don't know much about cheese, but I know I like to eat it.

Henry: Well, my Dear, there's no better place to start!

At that time, I knew these cheeses: American, Swiss, deli Muenster, Cheddar, Provolone, Mozzarella (the pizza kind, not the fresh kind), and "blue cheese" (I didn't even know there was more than one blue cheese).

The store's cheese department sold over 300 cheeses. I had a lot to learn. And I did. And I loved it. I was hooked. I ended up working there for the better part of eight years. Even when I had a full-time job elsewhere, I still remained on the "per diem" list, filling in when someone was ill or on vacation.

I also spent time working as a sales representative for one of New England's most respected high-end food distributors. In addition to selling many cheeses that were new (and exciting) to me, this business also dealt in fine oils, vinegars, olives, meats, and dry goods such as pasta, rice, and flour. They sold anything a chef would need to prepare food for a "white tablecloth" restaurant.

Again, I had a lot to learn. I learned it well, and I learned it quickly. I began experimenting with these new ingredients in my own kitchen. Duck confit. Israeli couscous. Pancetta. Creme fraiche. Some of them I recognized from my childhood culinary adventures; most of them were fresh and exciting to me.

Since then, I have enjoyed many jobs that have required me to use and expand my knowledge of specialty, imported, and artisan-made foods (especially cheese), and along the way, I have discovered the link between food, ecology, class and ethnic identity, and politics. As Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, author of Physiologie du Gout (1825) so aptly said, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."

Eleven-plus years after that fine day when I first put on a white chef's jacket and started selling cheese, I am a food writer, cheese expert, cheese educator, and consultant to one of the most famous food shops in the world - Zabar's, in New York City. I recently launched my own website, www.cheesesnob.com, to make it easier for people to find me and learn about what I can do to help them.

So what can you expect from my articles? Cheese. Lots of cheese. Food. Fancy food. Simple food. Tea. Chocolate. Just to name a few. And how will it be presented? With opinions. Lots of opinions. Descriptions of taste, aroma, appearance. Stories. Rants. But always with humor. And love.

I love food, I love cheese, and I love writing. I am very happy to write for Xomba, and I look forward to contributing many musings. I hope you enjoy my articles.

Cheese Snob Wendy is the proprietor of www.cheesesnob.com. Don't hate her because she knows more about cheese than you do.