It’s that time of year when we tend to get together with friends and family. I have a large, extended family and so it’s impossible to see them all over the Christmas period but we all tend to check in with each other and I love hearing everyone’s news as the messages pop up over the festive period.

Christmas Day is going to be a low key affair in our house. It is just going to be us, our children and my father-in-law so there’s less pressure on the cheeseboard. We tend to take a bit of pot luck from our cheese counter – there will be several small pieces that won’t keep so they get distributed amongst us and our staff. It means that we end up with a fairly eclectic array of goodies.

Boxing Day will bring a trip to London to have lunch with my family and (unsurprisingly) our job will be to bring the Christmas cheese. So what will be appearing on our Boxing Day cheeseboard? Being a huge fan of British cheese these will make up the centrepiece of our Boxing Day dessert.

Montgomery’s Cheddar is my all time favourite cheddar cheese. It has a wonderful complexity in its flavours: rich, savoury with a golden deliciousness that really get your taste buds going. Next we’ll be going for a piece of Wigmore. This is our local, soft, ewe’s milk cheese. It has a delicate flavour with a nutty tang and a silky soft feel in the mouth. For our blue we’re heading to South-East Nottinghamshire and the Colston Bassett Blue Stilton. I love Stilton and the Colston Bassett has a creamy, almost buttery flavour with the perfect balance of blue. My dad and I will definitely be tucking in to a large chunk! The final cheese at our lunch will be a Sinodun Hill. This locally made goat’s cheese is (quite possibly) my favourite cheese of all time. It tends to break down just underneath its wrinkly rind so the outer portion is soft, creamy and unctuous whereas it is slightly firmer in its centre. Not too goaty but totally wonderful!

These cheeses will all be paired with a Chilean dessert wine, the Valle Secreto Late Harvest Viognier. It has elegant and complex aromas of honey and ripe, tropical fruit with pineapple tones coming through. Sweet wine and cheese is (for me) the most delightful combination. Add in a few red grapes, some chopped apples, walnuts and crackers and our Boxing Day work is done!

But what will be on your Christmas cheeseboard? If you want to order from us (and beat the hour long queue) then you have just 2 days left to get your order in. Our deadline is 4pm on the 5th and we can’t process anymore orders after this date….