Chantal's Cheese Shop — Local services in Pittsburgh

More overpriced under selected nonsense. Then they go and throw a curve ball and make up policies on the fly

Here is a literal reenactment of said curve ball and why you should never go here.

paying customer-“do you have house made fresh motz”

owner?-no that was a specific item for someone”

paying customer-“o ok i saw it online”

owner?-“we have a sandwich that has it on it”

paying customer-“o ok great can you sell me some”

owner?-“no”

and just like that any credibility goes out the window and you realize whole foods has a better selection and better prices and would love to take your money in exchange for really anything. As for these idiots who knows but yeah avoid this place. Side not-Bridgeside Market still remains supreme on in house motz and get this-they’ll sell it to you!

EDIT-response to the owner

Lets be clear on a few things-You were not out of stock, you simply pulled the pretentious and lazy move of not selling me the stock you had as you wanted to put it on sandwiches-which by the way, since i was the only person in the store i don't think anyone was to worried about. Don't lie and claim you were out of stock, you said to my face you had some but wouldn't sell it.

If you think you being certified in cheese means anything to me i think its best you check out some of my other reviews, one of the highlights-from here to a few other countries is my seeking out fresh motz at dozens of places and that's just for fun, i got a strong feeling based on the boring case you were holding up my bulldogs have tried more variety than you have just hanging out with me going place to place.

As for this big tough guy-guess that depends on your sizing metrics but i wonder if i should take this comment the wrong way?

The bottom line is you had what i wanted to buy but wanted to not sell it as it goes on a sandwich. either plan your inventory better or sell what's in the store, you and your poor practice as a small mom and pop trying to be fancy instead of accessible is why whole foods is expanding the section and chain based charcuterie stores are popping up. Dumbos like you allowed that to happen and that makes you the problem, not customers who want to spend arguably to much money on cheese a week, if i thought you could understand them id show you my receipts and watch your mouth drop.

You made a mistake here today, you could have made this right or heck just sold me what i came in to buy, instead you just made yourself out a lair and a bad manager. End of story. P.S.-let me know on the tough guy comment...

I recently attended a cheese tasting event hosted at Chantal's Cheese Shop, and while the cheese tasting itself was a good time, sadly all the circumstances around it severely detracted from it. You're coming to the event hungry as instructed, but feel compelled to not start eating cheese until the hostess starts discussing each particular slice. Sadly, even getting to the first cheese took at least 30 minutes, during which she spent the time discussing almost nothing cheese related. Rich people, working women, united states laws, Americans, people from Pittsburgh, growing your own food, government overreach. From there, she starts discussing the actual cheese itself, starting with the makers and the farm. Which I’m sure is interesting to some people, but I personally wasn’t hugely invested in hearing the accolades about the farm and the owners. And then, only after 30 minutes do you get to hear 2 minutes of information about the cheese itself. I'm here to eat cheese, I would like to learn more about it directly! What flavors I should be expecting, the softness or hardness, what other cheeses it may be similar to. Something to enhance my eating experience, which is the primary reason I’ve come here to begin with. And this then repeats for an hour and a half, with no breaks. Really, you're just sitting and listening to someone lecture at you while you eat cheese. And you can't even talk to your fellow table mates during this. You want to ask them about what flavors they notices, share your opinions about the cheeses, and she'll shush you because she's still lecturing. This would have been MASSIVLY improved by cutting out 90% of the lecture. Take 10 minutes to talk about the cheese itself and a bit about the farm. Go into details about the taste, texture, flavors, anything that will enhance the eating part. Then, give 10 minutes of rest! Let people eat and discuss and think about the food they just ate. Then repeat. I will say, at least, that the cheeses themselves were fairly interesting, and the pairings were well done. The jams especially were the high point, those were delicious. I write this in the hope that the event will grow and improve. I really wanted to love this, and I think with some changes to the lecture it could...

Who doesn't love cheese? I recently attended a cheese and wine paring at Chantal's Cheese Shop in Lower Lawrenceville / Bloomfield area. Anaïs the cheesemonger and owner, hosted a Pittsburgh Foodies cheese night in her beautiful shop, educating myself and a group of fellow Pittsburgh foodies on all things cheese.

Anaïs was an amazing host! She is originally from France and is super sweet. Its so endearing to listen to her as she shares her apparent passion for cheese & food. You can just tell she loves sharing her knowledge with her infatuated customers.

We enjoyed generous portions of a selection of curated cheeses paired with specialty accompaniments like jams, confits, and mustards, plus a plate of savory goodies including meats & salmon rillettes, and a red and white wine pairing. The collective favorites were the super buttery Kunik a triple cream goats and cows milk cheese paired with local honeycomb, and the Le bleu de Laqueuille paired with a red pepper confit with raspberry & cayenne. My favorites from the savory side plate were the luxe butter Ste-Mere d'Isigny and the balsamic pearls on the salmon spread.

For the wine pairings we enjoyed french wines of course. A white wine from Bourgogne Aligoté, France and a red wine from Languedoc, France. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed both of these non-sweet wines and would definitely purchase for my own enjoyment at home. The white Louis Jadot Bourgogne Aligoté 2017, was sharp and acidic so it was great to pair with our rich cheeses. The red wine, was the Jeff Carrel Les Darons Rouge 2016, it was was bold and flavorful with a delicious berry taste.

If you're interested in the in-person experience Chantal's Cheese Shop regularly hosts fun, laid back lesson in cheese. They offer lessons in Cheese Pairings 101 or special events like a lesson on Italian Cheese or American Artisanal Cheese. I would recommend checking out the shop's website for upcoming classes, and visit the shop for all of your specialty...