Cooking draws folks together

In the entrepreneurial world, necessity is the father of invention.

Such was the case for Paula Lambert in 1982 -- the year she founded The Mozzarella Company.

Lambert had just returned from Italy and missed the availability of fresh mozzarella cheese. With the library as her source of information, Lambert began to make her own. She is now the owner of her own Dallas cheese factory, the author of two published books, a public speaker, and teacher.

Since 1982, The Mozzarella Company has grown from making about 100 pounds of mozzarella per week to producing a long list of specialty gourmet cheeses from cows’ milk and goats’ milk. Many were inspired by Paula’s travels in Italy, Mexico and Greece, while others are reflections of more recent culinary trends.

In 2000 the company produced over a quarter-of-a-million pounds of handmade cheese.

In 1994 and 2001, Lambert’s fresh mozzarella won first place at the American Cheese Society Competition in Louisville, Ky., and dubbed “Best Cheese in America.”

Lambert’s hand-crafted specialty cheeses are sold throughout the United States to restaurants, hotels and gourmet shops, and to visitors to her Dallas factory.

Over the years Lambert’s cheeses have been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit and served at the Academy Awards and to presidents and royalty.

In May 1998 Lambert was chosen for the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

In 2000 her first cookbook “The Cheese Lovers Cookbook and Guide” was published by Simon and Schuster. It was a finalist for the World Cookbook Awards in Cork, Ireland.

In 1997 she began selling to restaurants in Mexico City and her cheeses were served aboard South African Airlines.

When Colleen Duffley was 22 when she first took Lambert’s picture for her new company and the two women have kept in touch ever since.

Duffley convinced Lambert to come to Alys Beach for three days of book signing, cooking and cheese-making classes last weekend at her newly-opened Studio b.

Using her cheeses, Lambert led five couples in preparing five dishes from her cookbook for a meal in the Studio b kitchen July 17. Gazpacho with chevre crème, watermelon and feta salad, panzanella with fresh mozzarella, roasted chicken stuffed with ricotta, and mascarpone tart topped with fruit were on the menu.

Music played as everyone chopped, sliced and minced ingredients, and by the time the meal was toasted and enjoyed al fresco at poolside, all felt like old friends.

Lambert explained that is the way cooking classes are done in France, where she occasionally teaches.

“Cooking brings everyone together,” she said.

Lambert will return to Studio b in the fall for more cooking classes.