Specialties
Formaggio Kitchen specializes in artisan cheese. We are well known for being the first retailer to build a cave for aging our precious cheeses. We also offer a wide selection of olive oils, vinegars, condiments, chocolate, confections, coffee, and tea.
Our produce section has all of the staples including many fruits and vegetables from local farms. Our kitchen makes a variety of daily salads and sandwiches as well as a dinner course after 2pm. In our bakery we offer a daily selection of fresh breads, scones, croissants and muffins.
We also have a very carefully chosen array of estate wines and craft beer.
Above all we specialize is exemplary customer service, whether you visit us in our store or online.
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/formaggiokitchen
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/formaggiokitchen/
History
Established in 1978.
Formaggio Kitchen has been an establishment in its beautiful Cambridge neighborhood since 1978. Ihsan and Valerie have managed the store since the late 1980s. As owners of the shop, Ihsan and Valerie work together to create the "old-world market experience" that inspired both their love of food and their desire to share that with their community.
In 1995 Formaggio Kitchen built the first cheese aging room in a U.S. retail shop. Having a special room in which to age cheeses had been well known in Europe, but Ihsan was the first to put the idea into practice in his own shop.
In 2000, Ihsan and Valerie opened a sister store called South End Formaggio and located in Boston's historic South End. Valerie runs the South End store and gives it a her own unique and captivating character. In 2007, the Formaggio family extended to New York City's Lower East Side with Formaggio Essex Market.
Formaggio Kitchen also operates a mail order business via its website www.formaggiokitchen.com.
Meet the Business Owner: Julia H.
Julia's interest in food began naturally as a young girl growing up on a small farm in Eastern Oregon. It was on the farm that she learned about food in its most basic forms.
At first, Julia really didn’t understand how much her upbringing had taught her about food. When she moved to Boston to attend Tufts University, she painfully missed the meals to which she had grown so accustomed. Being rather stubborn, Julia would not settle and sought out the food she knew and loved by going to farmer’s markets, joining community gardens, and discovering Formaggio Kitchen. Formaggio Kitchen took all of the principles of food she grew up with and presented them on an international level. Julia fell in love with the store and began working there shortly after graduating from Tufts. Julia started on the pastry counter and worked her way up to general manager of the Huron Ave location. In 2022, Julia assumed ownership of all three Boston-area stores.
