In a little building next to 300 on First, Zubay created a food lover's delight. The Culinary Market, open barely three months, is quickly turning into the go-to spot for the out-of-the-ordinary, the unusual, the hard-to-find and above all, the delicious.

As Zubay eyes the direction she wants this market to take, she has the experience and the know-how. As the wife of Jerry Zubay, co-owner of Creative Cuisine -- think City Cafe, The Redwood Room and 300 on First -- she has been involved in the restaurant business as a consulting chef in charge of menu development and research for the company. In that capacity, she has assisted their chefs and at one point, helped bake pastries. "There isn't much I haven't done at one time or another. I love it and I love food," she said.

What Zubay has done is impressive. In this very small space, she has well over 800 different products. "Initially my main focus was cheese," she said. "I felt that was one area where this town really needed bolstering and I wanted to get ones that were not available anywhere else."

That she has done. A substantial cheese counter is filled with different artisinal cheeses both from the United States and abroad. There are varieties from Spain, Italy, France and Holland as well as from the Cow Girl Creamery in California and Sweet Grass Dairies in Georgia. Then there are olive oils, honeys and a big variety of salts and flavored sugars.

You can also get Iberico and Serrano ham, prosciutto and pancetta. Another popular item are the Tribecca breads ordered from New York. Multi-grain, olive and fruit and nut baquettes come frozen and you finish the baking at home.

If being around all this food makes you hungry, you can also get a sandwich and sit outside at a little cafe table.

Has she always been so passionate about good food? "Yes. In fact I started cooking in the fourth grade, things my mother would not have thought about preparing," she said. "I really got into it. Actually in the sixth grade I made my first cheese souffle. Later, one of my jobs in high school was working as a waitress and in the kitchen at Madonna Towers. I made salads and desserts on Thursdays and on weekends. I loved that job."

Q & A with LeeAnn Zubay

Q: This reminds me of a smaller version of an upscale Trader Joes. Is there any one thing you sell more of than anything else?

A: Not really. It is pretty even. We sell a little of everything every day. We already have a good base of regular customers, and what is fun also is we have quite a few who walk over from Charter House.

Q: The holidays aren't that far away. What sorts of things will you be bringing in?

A: We'll have more cheeses, caviar, pates -- lots of different and unusual items.

Q: So as involved as you and Jerry are with food, don't you want to just get away from it when you go on vacation?

A: Absolutely not. We don't golf. We don't hike. What we do is eat. We are always on the hunt for that new item or product or new dish. But that is what we love to do whether we are here or away. I do read a lot and I love cooking magazines like "Bon Appetit" and cookbooks.

Q: What about expanding or opening a second place?

A: We are pretty tight in here but it works. For myself, I can never do anything little -- there is so much more I want to do with this. For now, no. But who knows? I have a lot of ideas.

Culinary Market, 308 First Ave. N.W., is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 280-3875. www.culinary-market.com.

Holly Ebel of Rochester is a freelance writer.