Marta Rich works in our Digital Trading team. Every Christmas, she travels home to Washington D.C. to celebrate with her family. There is one tradition she looks forward to, most of all: the sharing of a magnificent cheeseboard, alongside delicious Champagnes.
In my household, the Christmas season is centred around traditional dishes from my parents’ European and American heritages. But there is one meal, in particular, that we are all equally devoted to: an impeccably constructed cheeseboard.
Christmas Day is always an early start, with steaming cups of hot chocolate for me and black coffee for my parents, sitting cross-legged and huddled around the tree exchanging presents and watching our two cats frolic in the wrapping paper. We all have our ceremonial plate of a traditional Panettone – meticulously chosen by my mother weeks before – but before long, we are waiting for the real feast to begin.
Since moving to the UK when I was 18 for university, one of the token “British things” I have been bringing back to the suburbs of Washington D.C. is a delicious and sweetly packaged potted Stilton. This, along with a colourfully waxed Cheddar truckle and a variety of chutneys – recently the favourite has been a caramelised onion marmalade – are ceremonial presents for my father, who upon opening, officially begins the creation of our cheeseboard.
Our Christmas Day cheeseboard is a collaborative family effort, and the result of countless grocery store visits, trial cheese-and-cracker pairings throughout the year,
This Article was originally published on Barry's Wine Blog
