I was invited to have dinner this week at the home of Dutch Cheese Girl.
She and her husband are my next door neighbours at the moment as I am working on a new farm project in the country and sleeping there during the week. It was lovely to be embraced by two wonderful, warm hearted, entertaining people along with their beautiful dog. We had much to talk about, issues to debate and the world to put to rights.
Still, we didn’t really get to the nub of cheese. It is an interesting debate to agree the ultimate cheese board. Nowadays the fashion is much more towards having one large cheese rather than lots of small pieces that remind me of 1970’s eating. And then there’s the politics and opinions surrounding cheese making: raw milk vs pasteurised, mechanisation vs hand made, and then there’e the whole ageing process.
Dutch Cheese Girl keeps things close to nature using the traditional hand made methods using a traditional vat and press. It is wonderful to hear someone so excited by her job talk about the making of cheese and see the master at work. Her signature cheese is Gouda which may not be known to you, but is definitely worth looking up. I am looking forward to hearing what else will grace her board and sharing it with you.
If you want to see the best array of cheeses then go to La Fromagerie in Marylebone High Street. I celebrated a birthday there a few years ago with Patricia Michelson hosting the evening. She waited til the actual day of my celebration to choose the freshest of the cheeses which really surprised me. Who knew cheese could be that fresh? The meal started with parmesan crisps to accompany bubbles, then progressed to a board complemented by white wine then a final one with red wine. Everyone had loads of fun and I would definitely recommend it.
bellowblogs 