Two years of running a catering business with a specialty in crafting cheese boards for groups showed Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon that the Phoenix area was in desperate need of an artisan-cheese shop. In 2019 she opened Mingle + Graze with her husband, Cristobal Alarcon.
A career in cheese—or anything food-related—wasn’t on Moeeni-Alarcon’s radar as an Arkansas State University undergrad. Between classes she worked in a café, a job she enjoyed. One day she overheard two customers chatting about culinary school. “I had no idea culinary school was a thing,” she says. “I didn’t know I could make a career out of it. I changed my major and decided to go to [Arizona Culinary Institute] after graduation.”
Following her passions has always paid off. While organizing weddings and other large events at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Moenni-Alarcon met Alarcon. They later got married at the property.
A job as wine buyer at a local Whole Foods Market store also allowed Moenni-Alarcon to develop a culinary specialty in cheese. “My goal for all of these positions was to learn, because I knew I wanted to have my own business in the end,” she says.
The Shop
At Graze + Mingle, the couple divides tasks according to what they do best. As a trained chef and seasoned restaurant manager, Alarcon runs the operations side while Moeeni-Alarcon handles recipe development. They trace their success back to a cheeseboard Moeeni-Alarcon designed for a six-foot-long table at a wedding reception for 100 guests. At the time, grazing boards were trending in Australia and New Zealand but not yet in the U.S.
“I posted it on my social media and it just boomed,” says Moeeni-Alarcon. “I had tasting rooms at local wineries contact me to do a grazing table. It really just snowballed from there. People wanted this service.” Locals also hired her to set up grazing boards for private events in their homes.
This success allowed her to leave Whole Foods Market in 2018 to host more private events—all while searching for the perfect space for an eventual cheese shop. In historic downtown Chandler, a 700-square-foot retail space became available. Graze + Mingle opened in 2019. Classes in building cheese boards are hosted here and cater to groups, including for team building. “It’s a great ice breaker, making [these] cheese boards and comparing each other’s,” says Moeeni-Alarcon. “A lot of love and care goes into making cheese and I love teaching that to people, especially [explaining] why cheese is so expensive.”
Grilled-cheese sandwiches and salads are also served. When available, Graze + Mingle sells Crow’s Dairy’s goat cheese, made in Buckeye, Arizona, at a fifth-generation dairy farm.
Top-Selling Cheeses
Los Cameros Cured Blended Cheese, Rioja, Spain
“The best snackable cheese,” is what Moeeni-Alarcon calls this cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheese. Aged for six months, it’s repeatedly rubbed with olive oil as the rind forms.
Milton Creamery’s 4-Alarm Cheddar, Iowa
“This cheese is spicy, with ghost peppers,” says Moeeni-Alarcon, “but balances out with the creaminess from the cheddar. We love using this cheese in our Spicy Melt Grilled Cheese, with a choice of braised beef or chicken tinga.”
Beemster Cheese’s Pumpkin Spice Gouda, Holland
Dovetailing with fall’s pumpkin-spice craze, Moeeni-Alarcon ordered this cheese in March because a six-month pre-order is required. “We bring in five wheels a season and sell out by November,” she says. “This is not made with pumpkins, but pumpkin spice: cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. This is the perfect cheese to put on a board or use in cooking: soups, top roasted veggies with it, or make a cheese sauce.”
Van Dijk Family’s Potato Goat Gouda, Holland
Named Dorthea, after the cheesemaker’s mom, this flavored goat cheese is aged 60 days using pasteurized goat’s milk. “Potato skins, garlic, basil oil, coriander oil and onions are the secret ingredients,” says Moeeni-Alarcon. Only 4,000 wheels of this cheese are made each year.
Alp Abiestetton’s Alpkäse, Switzerland
“We are bringing [this cheese] in this holiday season from the Adopt an Alp program. World’s Best Cheese promotes this program where cheese shops can pick from several family-owned creameries in the Alps,” says Moeeni-Alarcon.