Androuet comes to London

I was wandering through Spitalfields market yesterday when I came across a smart-looking cheese shop - the first London outpost of the famous Parisien fromagerie Androuet. It's pretty small with a mixture of French and European cheeses, supplied by Androuet and English ones, sourced through Paxton and Whitfield with whom they appear to be in partnership.

There's a chic little wine and cheese bar at the back where they're already offering cheese plates and apparently plan to offer classic cheese dishes like raclette and fondue shortly.

I didn't have time to browse but managed to pick up a cheese I hadn't tasted: a delicious Swiss cheese called Bergblumenkase or Bergblume which I discover is rolled in alpine herbs. It's quite similar to a Gruyère in texture but much richer and fuller in flavour. I suspect it would go best with a crisp fruity white wine but it rubbed along fine with the modest Cabardes we were drinking last night.

I'll go back and try the hot dishes which I hope are better than those at L'Art du Fromage, the cheese-focussed restaurant I reviewed a few weeks back. It certainly looks a much more contemporary joint and has the virtue of being in a rather more accessible location.

Cheese School update

It's only 3 days now till our first all day session of Cheese School and there suddenly seems a massive amount of work to do: buying ingredients, sourcing wines and beers and begging and borrowing a whole lot of artisanal products to use for our 'Amazing Tastes' session.

It's interesting how the day has evolved since we first had the idea. Originally we were going to have a cooking demo but we reckoned that what people really wanted to know was to learn more about cheese and how to use it so we've dropped that.

Instead we thought it would be fun to attempt a 3 course cheese lunch though that doesn't seem quite such a brilliant idea now when we add that to all of the other things we have to do! And when we think about how much cheese people are going to be eating anyway. (It's goats cheese, beetroot and walnut salad, macaroni cheese and upside down lemon and blueberry cheesecakes for those of you who are curious about how we're going to pull it off)

The concept of the Amazing Tastes session has also changed. Originally I was going to demonstrate some unconventional ways of putting cheeses and other ingredients together but we decided it would be much more interesting to have everyone doing their own thing so we're laying on a whole lot of cheeses, chutneys, fruits and nuts for people to get creative with.

The cheese pairing session will also be fun: we're going to get a local wine merchant Avery's and a brewer, the Bristol Beer Factory, to come along and each match 4 wines and 4 beers to 4 cheeses and see which come out tops.

And the morning sessions with the cheesemakers are going to give people a real chance to appreciate the difference in artisanal British cheeses. Todd Trethowan who makes Gorwydd Caerphilly is going to show how cheese changes as it ages and Sam Holden who makes Hafod is going to compare different cheddars.

I suspect by the end of the day we'll all be cheesed out but we can't wait!

Cheese trolley or cheese plate?

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?

Taleggio, potato and thyme bruschetta

A rather blurry photo but this is a great idea for a simple snack if you happen to have a few potatoes and some Taleggio to hand. It was served today at my one of my favourite Bristol restaurants, Flinty Red.

I guess you simply need some good quality toast made from country bread (I'd use sourdough), maybe a little sautéed onion, a scattering of thyme, some slices of freshly cooked potato and some Taleggio then just whack it under the grill. Easier than pizza and absolutely delicious.

A perfect cheese platter

Another model way of presenting cheese from South Africa - this time a party platter served at the Creation winery in Hemel-en-Aarde

I love the way the meats - indigenous South African biltong and dried beef and salami are mixed in with the cheese to create colour and textural contrast and the way the cheeses are pre-cut - much more attractive than serving great slabs though you need to be careful not to do it too far ahead or they'll dry out.

There are a few olives and pickles in the middle - you could also add some grilled vegetables - if you like but remember any pickles, compotes or chutneys are likely to make wine pairing more tricky.

Incidentally there were a couple of really good matches here - a Hamilton Russell Chardonnay with the cheddar-style cheese just to the right of the dried beef and a couple of Syrah blends (Creation and Newton Johnson) with the Pecorino style cheese with peppers in the foreground.

South Africa's amazing cheese scene

Last time I was in South Africa about 5 years ago the cheese was nothing to write home about. This time it's nothing short of stellar. Not so much in terms of the individual cheeses - I've not really had times to get to grips with those - but the way it's presented and incorporated on menus. Here's three examples from the Cape's top winery restaurants:

A crumbed goats cheese salad with figs at Terroir on the Kleine Zalze estate where the goats cheese was rolled in brioche crumbs and deep-fried (above)


A tart of mushrooms and turnip with fromage blanc and microgreens (above) at George Jardine's restaurant at the Jordan winery

And the stunning plate of goats cheeses and melon at Rust en Vrede created by chef David Higgs (below)


It's as much as I can do not to order cheese at every restaurant I go to.

Cheese still life

When I spotted this picture on The British Larder the other day I thought it was so beautiful I had to post something about it and Madelene who writes the blog - and takes the photos - agreed to let me use it. She accompanies it with roast grape purée (great idea) and caramelised white onion breads the recipes for which are on her post.

I love the marble slab the cheese (Paxton & Whitfield's Cornish Soft) is served on (cheeseboards don't have to be wooden), the contrast of colour between the orange-edged white rind of the cheese and the dark, plummy grape purée wantonly smeared over the spoon, the fact that the cheese knife, an interesting shape in itself, shows the mark of cutting the cheese. It shows how a single cheese can be showcased and that you don't need a whole cheeseboard to create a stunning effect. Inspirational.