If there’s one thing you might assume you don’t have to pay much attention to at Christmas, it’s the cheeseboard. Stilton, Cheddar, brie, maybe a goat’s cheese, that’ll do it, you might think. But you won’t be surprised to hear that your cheeseboard could be so much better if you give some careful thought to both the selection and the wine pairings. And who better to steer you through both than Patricia Michelson, the founder of London’s fabled La Fromagerie, with its three branches in London’s Bloomsbury, Highbury and Marylebone.
Michelson has firm opinions on the subject, from the best moment to eat your cheese (not straight after the big meal, or for at least an hour after it) to the order in which you should eat them.
Patricia Michelson is the founder of La Fromagerie cheese shops in London. Credit: Thomas Skovsende
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It’s important to enjoy the whole experience, so you need a progression of taste, she argues. ‘Goat’s cheese refreshes and neutralises the palate, its bright acidity building up your tastebuds. Then you want the nutty fruitiness of hard cheese and the mellowness of a bloomy- or washed-rind cheese like a Vacherin. End with a blue, and note how the sharpness of the veins mingles with the richness of the paste and brings the whole taste experience together. Don’t start with the blue because it will kill everything afterwards.
