Christmas Cheeseboard

A goat's log of distinction. Firm when young, softening as it ages and displaying a lemony tang. Great sliced, grilled, drizzled with honey, walnuts and lardons.

Bouncy and Buttery in texture, with aromas of fresh flowers and hay. The floral nature of the cheese is also present in the taste, with a further nutty flavour to boot. Made in Bavaria, this cheese celebrates the diversity of the Alpine flora. The cheese is dressed in organic edible flower petals from the alpine meadows including dried cornflowers, rose petals, calendula, lavender, and herbs, making it look as though it’s been sprinkled with confetti. The perfect celebration cheese!

Jonathan Crump makes this variety of local cheese in Stonehouse, Standish Park Farm. It is the only Double Gloucester to be made exclusively from the milk of Gloucester cattle - one of the rarest breeds in the country. Their milk is good for cheese making as it has small globules of fat and a high protein content. The colour of the cheese comes from the flavourless Caribbean seed annatto. Savoury and earthy with a milky, farmyardy finish. Rich, mellow, and buttery. A must for the cheeseboard!

A soft blue cheese from Beechmount farm, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Now made by Jane and Louis Grubb, this family’s cheese-making credentials date back to the 17^th Century. Characterful but not strong. the youngest Cashel Blue is between 6 to 10 weeks of age and is pleasant, firm and creamy edged with an established blue character which is offset by a mouth-watering tanginess. By 3 months of maturation the Cashel will have broken down to a richer, fuller and rounder flavour and develops a greater creaminess as it matures up to 6 months. A gentle, creamy blue, soft and silky with tarragon and white wine flavours.

The classic Brie de Meaux is the king of French cheese, made east of Paris in the Île de France region and AOC protected since 1980. Brie de Meaux is an ancient cheese, first mentioned in the chronicles of Charlemagne in the year 774 when the Emperor tasted the cheese in the small city of Brie. During the French Revolution, supposedly, the last wish of Louis XVI was for a final taste of Brie. This cheese has a soft and delicate, bloomy white rind and the inside is straw yellow, creamy and velvety. The taste of the brie is rich and earthy with vegetable undertones -  slightly mushroomy under the rind.