Always serve your cheese at room temperature


All the great restaurants I worked in prided themselves on serving a really impressive cheeseboard. I always like the sense of theatre that a cheese trolley brings to a meal in a restaurant. At this time of year, when you’re doing lots of entertaining, don’t forget to put together your own cheeseboard. Serving a cheese course is not only a hospitable way to round off a meal, it’s also gloriously simple – all the hard work has been done by the cheesemakers.

When it comes to putting together your cheeseboard just remember a few principles:

  1. My first piece of advice is to try and buy your cheese from a good cheesemonger, delicatessen or cheese counter; I like Paxton & Whitfield, who’ve been in the business of selling cheese since 1797. Buying cheese from a good cheesemonger means not only do you get to choose from a great range of cheeses at their most delicious, but you get advice and suggestions for which cheeses to serve, and usually a chance to taste before you buy.
  2. I know which cheeses I enjoy eating but if you are not sure what sort of cheese your guests will enjoy, then offer a varied range to make sure there’s something for all tastes. There are so many types of cheese to choose from, which is one of the reasons why I like cheese.
  3. Cheeses range in texture from fresh, soft, moist cheeses with a delicate taste; to hard cheeses, matured for many months, with a stronger flavour. Although many cheeses are made from cow’s milk, it’s now easy to find cheeses made from goat’s, sheep’s and even buffalo’s milk. A varied cheeseboard might offer a mild, fresh, goat’s cheese; a soft white rind cheese such as Brie or Camembert; a tangy blue cow’s cheese, and a hard cow’s cheese such as a farmhouse Cheddar like Montgomery’s or Keen’s.
  4. Always serve your cheese at room temperature. If you serve cheese cold, straight from the fridge, you simply won’t be doing it justice. I bring the cheese out of the fridge at least half an hour before serving so that the flavours and aromas can develop.
  5. When it comes to what to serve with your cheese, classic choices include crusty bread, plain crackers, oatcakes or digestives. Don’t forget fresh fruit such as figs, grapes, apples and pears – they go well with cheese and look attractive on the cheeseboard. Quince jelly, known as membrillo in Spain, is a fashionable accompaniment; its sweet flavour contrasting nicely with robust hard cheeses such as mature Manchego or blue cheese.

Here’s a guide to a few of my favourite cheeses:

Chevre:

‘Chevre’, which means ‘goat’ in French is also used to describe cheeses made from goat’s milk. Depending on its age, chevre can be very soft and mild, or drier and tangier. The bright white colour is characteristic of goat’s cheese, as is the slightly nutty flavour. A classic French way of serving chevre is to slice it thickly, grill it until golden and present it on a bed of salad leaves; simple, but very good indeed.

Brie:

This famous French cheese is a wheel-shaped, soft cheese, made from cow’s milk with a white bloomy rind. Firm when young, as it ripens the cheese softens from the outside in, taking on a mushroomy flavour, and smooth, creamy texture. One of the best bries is Brie de Meaux, which is made by traditional methods and therefore especially tasty.

Camembert:

Another French classic, Camembert, is a small, soft, thick, round cow’s milk cheese with a rich buttery flavour and white bloomy rind. As it ripens, the texture softens, becoming increasingly more creamy.

There are a lot of Camembert producers out there. My tip to spot the finest traditionally made Camembert is to look out for the label: Camembert de Normandie Apellation d’Origine Controlee au Lait Cru.

Cheddar:

This classic British hard cow’s milk cheese is well-known and widely loved. It’s a great cooking cheese, whether you want to make macaroni cheese or cheese on toast. When it comes to serving Cheddar on a cheeseboard, I’d recommend looking out for traditionally-made farmhouse Cheddars such as Montgomery’s or Keen’s; both made in Somerset, clothbound and matured for several months, the process used ensures seriously flavourful cheeses.

Comte:

This large, wheel-shaped, French hard cow’s milk cheese has a smooth, dense texture and a distinctive sweet, fruity taste, making it very easy to eat. Mild when young, it develops a richer flavour when matured for longer.

Epoisses:

This round French cow’s milk cheese has a distinctive deep orange-coloured rind and is known as a ‘washed rind’ cheese – a type of cheese which produces the smelliest of all cheeses! Known for its pungent aroma and full-bodied, almost meaty flavour – this is not for the faint-hearted.

Stilton:

Britain’s best-known blue cheese is made from cow’s milk and, by law, has to be produced in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The best Stiltons, such as those made by Colston Bassett Dairy or Cropwell Bishop Dairy, have a creamy texture and a spicy, tangy kick from the blue veining.

Taleggio:

With its distinctive square shape and orange-coloured rind, this semi-soft Italian cheese is easy to spot. Made from cow’s milk, it has a smooth, soft texture and a rich, full flavour.