Matt Rodbard & Zingerman's Collaboration Gift Box

Matt Rodbard is a writer, editor, and author of food and culture books with more than two decades of experience working in television, magazines, book publishing, and online media. He’s won two James Beard Awards (and been nominated for more), he’s the Founding Editor of the online food and culture magazine TASTE, and he's the host of the very popular podcast This is TASTE. 

He's also from Michigan, which is only gilding the lily as far as we're concerned.

Matt is very familiar with all things Zingerman's, having visited many times and ordered online for years. So finding products he loved and wanted to share was easy—the hard part was editing the selection down. So for this box, Matt's selected foods he loves to snack on and share, with a focus on he favorite Michigan spreads. It's designed to be enjoyed right out of the box, so grab some friends and gather around this delicious collaboration.

Our colorful, cartooned gift box includes a loaf of Sourdough Bread, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Zingerman's Pimento Cheese spread, Great Lakes Smoked Whitefish spread, Finocchiona Salami, a Black Magic Brownie, and a Magic Brownie.

Here's what Matt has to say about them:

Sourdough Bread: "As a kid growing up in Kalamazoo, MI, the iconic Zingerman’s logo arriving at the door, or a local grocery store, meant a surprise was in store, like this amazing sourdough bread. It was a revelation."
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar: "I love this collaboration between Cabot and Jasper Hill and really respect Mateo and Andy Kehler. They’re buying wheels of clothbound cheddar from Cabot and aging them in their cheese caves in Vermont. That to me is the definition of craft and collaboration."
Pimento Cheese Spread: "This is what kind of started it all for me - at least from Zingerman’s Mail Order. There are a LOT of pimento cheese recipes floating around, and the Zingerman’s version hits all the right notes—great cheese, perfect texture and not loaded with peppers. I dare you not to finish the container in one sitting. I love using this in grilled cheese."
Smoked Whitefish Spread: "This spread reminds me of vacations “up north” as a kid, and as a Jewish kid this reminded me of great deli whitefish from Chicago. But it’s from Traverse City and such a great smokey and spreadable snack."
Finnochiona Salami: "This fennel salami from Illinois could be coming out of Northern Italy—and represents Zingerman’s mining of American charcuterie sellers for the very best."
Magic & Black Magic Brownies: "Not all brownies are created equally and you are getting them with and without walnuts. The high extraction whole grain flour gives the brownies such a great texture—and yes they are rich."