But they are now getting a taste for artisan cheddars – particularly West Country farmhouse cheddar, a protected product that by law has to be made by hand in south-west England.
You could make the most elegant bechamel cheese sauce with a fine artisan mature cheddar and the contrast of hot, silky sauce on, alternately, brittle, woody and now sopping-wet tortilla chips, would still be deeply unpleasant texturally.
I ordered a Red Eye coffee ($3.00), recommended by the amiable investment banker in line ahead of me, and a bacon and cheddar Artisan Breakfast Sandwich ($3.45), as I had eaten pizza for breakfast.
And they are also a hot seller off the Tongue'N Cheek truck, which rolls around London serving Heartbreakers, made with half-and-half minced rare breed beef and ox heart served on an artisan bun with cheddar and chimichurri: "So juicy it will spray you with your first bite!" says owner Cristiano Meneghin, who was inspired by the nose-to-tail ethos of his native Italy.
That burger is made with local grass-fed beef and topped with raw milk cheddar and artisan bacon from Tennessee.
Last year its "posh cheddar and pickle artisan baguette" was found to contain 800 calories and as much fat as a Pizza Express pizza.
Not just the ready-meals but the "artisan" sourdough loaves, the "traditional" vintage cheddar cheese, the probiotic drinks, and bottles of cooking oil.
That upmarket cured ham and salami, that "artisan" sourdough loaf, that "traditional" extra-mature cheddar, those luxurious Belgian chocolates, those speciality coffees and miraculous probiotic drinks, those apparently inoffensive bottles of cooking oil: many have had a more intimate relationship with food manufacturing than we appreciate.
But you could tell the same story of almost any artisan's product we put in our mouths, from bacon to cheddar cheese or smoked salmon.
Fans of Humboldt Fog and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar may hope this signals the return of the artisan producer, but Michael Moss gives all credit to mighty Kraft and the other food giants.
