Formaggio Kitchen was established in 1978 in the style of specialty shops found throughout Europe. Ihsan arrived in 1982 and Valerie in 1984. The store developed over the years as people responded to this vision. Under the guidance of Ihsan Gurdal as manager and cheese buyer, the shop developed its catering business and it import business. Throughout the 1980's the store brought more and more exclusive items into the country from France, Italy and Spain. Eventually, Ihsan and Valerie took over the business and further built on their desire to bring the European-style of neighborhood shopping to Cambridge and Boston.

Cheese had always been one of Ihsan’s primary attractions to the business and he developed Formaggio Kitchen’s cheese selection to the point where it was unparalleled within the United States. In 1997 Ihsan built a cheese aging cave out of the old office in the basement. At the cave opening, we were proud to have our loyal customer Julia Child in attendance. As the first retail store with a cheese cave, this was a highlight in our history which pushed us even further in our quest to offer our customers the best cheeses from around the world.

In 2000, Valerie and Ihsan opened South End Formaggio in Boston’s South End, joining Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley’s Bistro as one of the first gourmet outposts in this now celebrated historic neighborhood. With daily deliveries from our Cambridge store (in a hybrid car, of course) we proudly offer all of the exquisite cheeses and other imports available at Formaggio Kitchen, but with a particular focus on artisanal New England cheeses thanks to our cheese buyer Leslie Mann.