With a full-time cheese buyer who spends most of her time visiting local farms worldwide, a full-time department head, and a full-time cheesemonger who may spend 15 to 20 minutes with a customer helping him match up the perfect cheese-and-wine combination, it's easy to see how Central Market manages to stock nearly 700 different cheeses. Each cheese department employee is passionate about one thing and one thing only: cheese from all over the world. Here, you'll not only find a delicious Spanish manchego, you'll find four different kinds. Dutch Gouda comes in seven varieties, many from small artisanal suppliers. The Parmigiano-Reggiano is made especially for Central Market in Italy. Their supply of raw-milk cheese is unsurpassed in the city. Most of their cheeses arrive in bulk and are individually cut and wrapped by hand, with a two-week shelf life, after which they are removed from sale. With the resurgence of fondue parties and the fact that many people are rediscovering the simple elegance of wine-and-cheese parties, they don't have to remove a lot from the racks unpurchased.