So what earns a food or product the title artisanal? Well, when it comes to culinary items, “a food that’s labeled artisanal promises that there is a real human being behind it, someone who has been actively involved in creating it,” explains Sarah Weiner, executive director of Seedling Projects, the San Francisco-based organization that works to promote sustainable foods. It’s a comforting idea that your food might be made by a talented human, rather than an anonymous machine far away. There is artisanal cheese, and there’s even a New York City restaurant called Artisanal, which is appropriately dedicated to the art of cheese and French bistro fare. In the review by NYMag, “if cheese is a religion, this is its bustling, Balthazar-gone-midtown house of worship.” There’s also artisanal bread, and if you’re in the Bay Area you might want to check out The Mill in San Francisco, which is being called a mecca for artisanal breads; “it’s not just a bakery—it’s a lifestyle” according to Bon Appetit.
