I was dining - rather grandly - at Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat' Saisons last night which like many Michelin-starred restaurants still serves their cheese on a trolley (above). I have mixed views about that. On the one hand it's great to have a vast choice of cheeses and have the cheese sommelier (for that is what they're usually called these days) talk you through them.
On the other you can almost guarantee if you go for the stinky cheeses - which I rashly did - that they will ruin any red wine you're drinking. And that the sheer cost of maintaining such a huge selection in tip top condition means that you will be charged extra (£13 in this case) for preferring cheese to pud.
I'd personally rather have two or three cheeses - or even one well-chosen one - served with an appropriate accompaniment such as a few salad leaves, some nuts and some fresh or dried fruit but what do you cheese lovers think? Have cheese trolleys had their day or are they still the ultimate way to serve cheese?
11 comments:
I'm not a wine drinker so don't have that aspect to worry about...
So I'm free to enjoy the stronger cheeses. And that's the reason I love the cheese trolley. I can ask for guidance on which cheeses to have, and go with my mood depending on whether I'm after the farmyard taste of goat's cheese, a pungent rind-washed affair or a richly veined blue.
The trouble for me with many pre-selected cheese plates is that, even in places where the cheese is in perfect condition, the choices are made to cater to the widest range of tastes, so tend to be much milder and, in some cases, more boring cheeses.
Don't get me wrong, there's a place for mild cheeses, of course. But they're not always what I fancy and I like to have a choice!
Perhaps we're just greedy, but a cheese trolley is often the perfect way to finish a meal. My husband and I often give the cheese 'sommelier' free reign, as long as we're given two different selections, and then swap plates. It's led us to some great discoveries.
The French 'chariot' of cheese (so much grander-sounding than a simple trolley!), always fills me with excitement when it's rolled alongside my table.
Oh I'm quite a fan. It's lovely to try a few different ones in a restaurant. At home, though, I'm with you: just one or two and some other bits and pieces.
It's about choice, you can always ask for a recommendation of one or two and a wine recommendation to go with it...I love the theatre of cheese descriptions,going out to a restaurant of quality will always be an indulgence for most people so why not go for it..
While it's great to try new cheeses in a restaurant, I'm for the plate of 3: A good goat's cheese like Cosne, a hard cheese like Montgomery Cheddar or Comté and a soft cheese like Camembert - simple but effective and less is more
Ah well, I see I'm outnumbered - apart from James!
The other thing is that I don't really want to eat 5 or 6 cheeses - I'm usually quite full by that stage of the meal particularly in a posh place where they offer lots of 'amuses'
And what about the cost factor? Do you mind being charged extra for cheese?
I used to prefer a cheese trolley so I could choose my cheeses (like Kavey, I like good, strong cheeses), but more recently I like the thought of a cheese plate with some carefully chosen cheeses on there. Although I haven't been for lunch there, I am intrigued by Petersham Nurseries' cheese plate, which has just one cheese paired with fruit or honey etc. I recently went on a cooking with tea workshop there and had tea-soaked prunes with Brillat Savarin, Ossau and Tipico - all were excellent and went v well with the prunes.
That sounds great, Sharon. Cheese plates have got a bad name because restaurants who serve them tend to use boring industrially produced cheeses but they don't have to be like that. And shouldn't.
I'm in the trolley camp too ... I love the opportunity to try new cheeses, the range and I don't mind the additional cost. Quite often my partner and I will share rather than having a dessert each.
I like the idea of both - cheese plates for budget days, and a trolley for adventerous days when price is no object. I do love a good trolley though - for me the whole joy of going out for food is the extra theatre element that you can't or wouldn't do at home.
Being a budding Cheese Sommelier (wanabe) myself, I can give the other view of this. When I wheel over the cheese trolley to a table and the guests get their senses hit by the sight and smell of the cheese, the looks you see on their faces are priceless. The almost theatrical experience of seeing the selection being prepared for you by a professional, with a short narrative about the cheese or the cheese maker can only add quality to the whole dining experience. It also allows you as the guest to choose what and how much of each cheese you want (within reason).
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