Say Cheese!

I'm a cheese lover of epic proportions. I'd take a cheese board over chocolate any day of the week. With a last minute urge to pull out the big flavours for the festive season, there was only one woman to turn to! Enter Diane from Provender Brown who is the go-to expert opinion for a showstopper of a cheeseboard.

Here's the party lowdown from Perth's first lady of cheese.

"If I wanted to wow my guests this Party Season with an interesting and unpredictable cheeseboard here are some of the cheeses I might choose..."

Godminster Black Truffle Vintage Organic Cheddar

Godminster has been one of our best-selling cheeses for a number of years now and if you’re a truffle fan you’re going to love this sweet creamy cheddar combined with the rich umami and aroma of European Black Truffles.

Cornish Truffle Brie

Another one for the truffle fans.  Distinctly earthy with a slight mushroom note and a subtle aroma of truffles. As this brie matures the aroma intensifies but remains creamy with truffle slowly replacing the milky notes.

Buchette aux Fleurs

If you were lucky enough to bag one of these gorgeous little flower-covered cheeses when we had them in for Mother’s Day then you’ll know they taste every bit as good as they look

GALLERY

Elrick Log, Blackmount, Braveheart and fresh Goats Curd.

Having stopped production of Dunsyre Blue, Selina Errington has now branched out into goats cheese and is producing a number of absolutely delicious lactic cheeses in a variety of shapes and sizes – logs, pyramids and hearts.

La Retorta

A raw ewe’s milk cheese from Extremadura in Spain.  There is a tradition in South West Spain, and over the border in Portugal, of making ewes' milk cheeses called “torta” using thistle rennet, resulting in full flavoured cheeses with a soft, sometimes liquid interior.  La Retorta has a smooth, dense and creamy texture and ochre and pungent rind with aromas of mustard and dry hay. Full bodied in flavours with bitterness at the finish.

Dressing and Drinking!

I think in this instance I would dress the cheeseboard with a bunch of dried muscatel grapes, possibly some Spanish pickled figs and a few cubes of membrillo. 

For me, the perfect biscuits for any cheeseboard are Peter’s Yard crispbreads – made using a sourdough starter, they are delicious, but light, thin and subtle enough not to detract from the flavour of the cheese. 

In terms of wine, it’s always a bit of a nightmare trying to find one wine that will do justice to a whole range of cheese styles but I would be tempted to go with a Pedro Ximenez sherry.  It’s going to be wonderful with the blue cheeses and the creamy ones, as well as the muscatel raisins and the figs – and it’s just delicious in its own right – and that’s probably as good an all round match as you’re going to get!

Big thanks to Diane for taking time out of her crazy Christmas week to bring us this delicious cheeseboard. #ChristmasSpirit at work! 

***

Find out more about Provender Brown over on our George Street article.