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A World of Flavor

Q & A
In our viewfinder this month, importer Thomas Gellert talks about his family business, great cheeses and dealing with a challenging economy.

How did your company begin?
Atalanta, which is now part of the new Gellert Global Group, was started in 1945 by my grandfather, Leon Rubin. Our first product was pork from Poland. My grandfather’s cousins had pork operations that were confiscated by the Communist government there and they, the Polish government, contacted him to be an agent for them in the U.S. He eventually developed the Krakus brand in the States. Now, through our various companies, we import more than 2,000 products.

Did you grow up in the family business?
Every summer vacation I worked at Atalanta and did everything from running the freight elevator to doing store merchandising and demos. My first full-time job with the company was working in Italy. I coordinated Atalanta’s Italian imports and the exporting of Italian products (mostly cheese) to countries around the world. Now I have a handful of titles including principal of the Gellert Global Group, president of De Medici Imports and vice president of Atalanta—where I’m in charge of the cheese and specialty deli department.

How are you responding to the changing economy?
We are expanding upon our base and, within our range of products, are looking for more value. For example, we are bringing in Brenta Stagionato, a cow’s milk cheese from Northeastern Italy, that hits a popular price point. With our company De Medici, we have lowered prices across the board—offering everyday value to customers. We have a diversity of products and clients, which is fortunate in this market.

Have you seen increasing interest in imports from certain countries or regions?
Spain has gotten hotter over the past few years in all categories—cheese, meat and oils. Italy is always strong. What makes Italy special is the diversity in different regions; there is always something new for customers to discover.

What aspect of the business makes you most proud?
I like to think I was a part of our growth on the specialty side. We have become a “go-to” importer for specialty cheeses. But it’s funny; my wife doesn’t like cheese at all. We sell about 1,000 cheeses from more than 30 countries and she won’t try any of them. But our two-year-old daughter Devon seems to have my ‘cheese lover’ gene. She is already picky—no string cheese for her. Fresh mozzarella from DiPalo’s is one of her favorites.

If you knew it was going to be your last meal, what would you eat?
I figure I might as well try Fugu, and see what the hype is all about. If it does kill me, well, I was dying anyway. |SFM|

Susan Segrest is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.