Pecorino Romano DOP is a cheese made from sheep’s milk. This cheese can only be made on the Island of Sardinia which produces 95% of the production, the region of Lazio on the Italian mainland, and the province of Grosseto in Tuscany which accounts for 5% of the production.
Last week, a press conference was held at restaurant Bucatini in NYC sponsored by the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Pecorino Romano.
The authenticity of Pecorino-Romano cheese is indicated by the Protected Denomination of Origin mark.
Robert Campana, founder of Stop Italian Sounding, an organization dedicated to helping to create the brand identity of Italian food and beverage companies, introduced the event.
Gianni Maoddi, President of the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Pecorino Romano, spoke about the history of the cheese, its production and world wide distribution. The US is the biggest market for the cheese and 60% of the production is sold here. For more information about Pecorino Romano, see https://charlesscicolone.life/category/peccorino-romano/
After Mr. Maoddi’s presentation, Emilia D’Albero, the first American to win the prestigious title of “World’s Best Cheesemonger” at the Mondial du Fromage (2025) in France, spoke. She told us about her training to become a cheesemonger and the challenges she faced in France order to win the title. Over the course of 2 days, Emilia competed against 18 other challengers representing 14 countries around the world. The competition included a blind tasting and identification of various cheeses, creating recipes and cheese displays.
She then led us in a tasting of Pecorino Romano speaking about the color, bouquet and taste of the cheese.
Though Pecorino Romano often is sold grated, it is always best to purchase a wedge and grate it yourself because it is fresher and more flavorful.
Next we tried a creative appetizer of dried apricots stuffed with Pecorino Romano and drizzled with honey.
Pecorino Romano has always been tariff-free here in the US because there is no large scale sheep cheese production in this country. Recently, however, the current administration levied a 15% tariff on it. This would add 25,000,000 Euros to the cost of bringing the cheese into the US and the Pecorino Romano Consorzio is working to get this tariff reversed.
A buffet dinner featuring a range of dishes with Pecorino Romano followed the presentation.
Arancini — Cheesey rice balls.
Penne Pasta with Pecorino Romano and Tomato Sauce
Chicken Stuffed with Pecorino Romano
With the food we drank a Brunello di Montalcino
Pecorino Romano is often used as a topping for pasta, but this tasting showed that there are a multitude of other ways to enjoy it.