I have nothing against Stilton. Quite the opposite. It’s one of Britain’s great cheeses, and a good Stilton deserves its place on any cheeseboard. But every year, as Christmas approaches, something rather predictable happens.

We start thinking about Christmas cheese. And we start thinking about exactly the same cheeses we had last year. A Cheddar. A Brie. A Stilton. Perhaps something with cranberries in it, because apparently adding dried fruit to cheese makes it festive.

And there’s nothing particularly wrong with any of that.

But Britain makes some of the most interesting cheeses in the world. We have extraordinary farmhouse Cheddars, beautiful soft cheeses, washed rinds that can clear a room, sheep’s milk cheeses that would give some of their continental cousins a run for their money, and blue cheeses that bear very little resemblance to Stilton.

So why limit ourselves?

A Cheeseboard Isn’t a Checklist

Somewhere along the way, we’ve developed the idea that a cheeseboard needs a hard cheese, a soft cheese, a blue cheese and a goat’s cheese. Preferably arranged in a circle with some grapes in the middle.

But a cheeseboard isn’t an exam. There aren’t any marks for including the correct number of cheese categories. What matters is that the cheeses taste good, that they offer something different from one another and, most importantly, that the people eating them actually enjoy them.

And that’s where things get interesting. Because once you stop thinking about which boxes you need to tick, you can start thinking about what you really want to eat.

Britain Has Been Rather Busy Making Cheese

Take Brightwell Ash, for example. Made with goat’s milk in Wales, it’s a very different proposition from the sort of goat’s cheese that many people remember disliking. Delicate, lactic and coated in ash, it brings freshness to a cheeseboard that might otherwise be dominated by rich, mature cheeses.

And it doesn’t need much help. A Peter’s Yard Original cracker and a glass of Chapel Down Bacchus would do very nicely.

Then there’s Ashcombe. Inspired by the great Alpine cheeses, Ashcombe has a line of ash running through its centre, rather like Morbier. It’s supple, savoury and a reminder that British cheesemakers have never been particularly afraid of borrowing good ideas from elsewhere. Although, to be fair, cheesemakers have been borrowing ideas from one another for thousands of years.

A little Highfield Preserves Bramley Apple & Cider Chutney could work rather well here, particularly with a glass of Dr Thanisch Riesling.

And if you think all hard cheese has to be Cheddar, consider Spenwood. It’s made with sheep’s milk, and its firm texture and nutty, savoury flavours make it an excellent example of how different milk can produce a very different cheese. You could serve it with Fine Cheese Co. Walnut crackers and a glass of DeNatile Pecorino.

Yes, Pecorino is also the name of an Italian sheep’s milk cheese. In this case, it’s the name of the grape variety. Cheese and wine do like to make things unnecessarily confusing sometimes.

And Then Things Get a Little More Interesting

Witheridge is a cheese I find particularly fascinating. It’s matured in hay. Not simply displayed on a few decorative strands to make it look rustic. The hay forms part of the cheese’s maturation environment, influencing the microbial community developing on its rind. Which is interesting because the rind of a cheese is not simply a wrapper. It’s a living, changing ecosystem, and the microorganisms growing there can influence how the cheese matures. You don’t need to know any of that to enjoy eating it, of course. But I rather like knowing what’s happening to my cheese.

I’d keep the accompaniment fairly simple. Peter’s Yard Rye & Charcoal crackers would allow the cheese to remain the main attraction, with a glass of Guerrieri Rizzardi Valpolicella Ripasso if you fancy something red.

And then there’s Winslade. A soft cow’s milk cheese wrapped in spruce bark, which helps it hold its shape as it ripens. At its best, the centre becomes wonderfully soft and spoonable.

This is not a cheese that needs a great pile of chutney. Some Fine Cheese Co. Extra Virgin Olive Oil crackers and a glass of Domaine d’Elise Petit Chablis would be quite enough.

Sometimes knowing what not to put with cheese is just as important as knowing what to put with it.

But What About the Blue?

Well, we could have Stilton. We sell an excellent Colston Bassett Stilton, and I’m certainly not suggesting that everyone should abandon it. But what about Barkham Blue? Made in Berkshire, it’s rich, creamy and beautifully marbled with blue veins. It has a very different character from a traditional Stilton, and it’s an excellent example of how varied British blue cheeses can be.

Try it with a little Ouse Valley Pear & Juniper. And if you enjoy sweet wine with blue cheese, we have Chateau Violet Sauternes, which would make a rather good way to finish the evening. Although I should point out that you don’t actually have to finish the evening after the blue cheese. You can always have some more cheese.

The Crackers, Chutneys and Wine Matter Too

At Cheese Etc, we spend a lot of time thinking about what goes alongside the cheese. Not because every cheese needs an accompaniment. It doesn’t. Sometimes a good cheese is best enjoyed on its own, and adding a strongly flavoured chutney simply means you can no longer taste what made the cheese interesting in the first place.

But the right combination can be rather wonderful.

A little fruitiness can balance salt. Acidity can cut through richness. A crisp cracker can provide a contrast to a soft cheese. And wine introduces another set of flavours, textures and sensations into the equation. Which is why we stock Peter’s Yard and Fine Cheese Co. crackers, chutneys and preserves from Highfield Preserves, Tracklements and Ouse Valley, and a range of wines chosen to accompany the cheeses on our counter.

You don’t need six different bottles of wine for six different cheeses. You don’t even need six different crackers. And you certainly don’t need to put chutney on everything. But it’s worth experimenting. Because sometimes the combination you least expect turns out to be the one you enjoy most.

So, About Christmas…

I know it’s still October. And I’m not suggesting you need to have your entire Christmas menu planned before Halloween. But it’s worth starting to think about the cheese.

Perhaps you want a traditional Christmas cheeseboard with a magnificent Cheddar and a proper Stilton. Perhaps you want to try something completely different. Or perhaps you simply want to add one or two cheeses you’ve never tasted before. All of those are perfectly good approaches.

At Cheese Etc, we have more than 100 British and continental cheeses to choose from, along with crackers, chutneys, preserves and wines to accompany them. And, rather conveniently, we also have someone behind the counter who is quite happy to spend an unreasonable amount of time talking about cheese. So come in, tell us what you like, what you don’t like, how many people you’re feeding and whether anyone in the family insists on having Stilton.

We’ll take it from there. Because the best Christmas cheeseboard isn’t necessarily the most expensive, the most traditional or the one with the greatest number of cheeses. It’s the one everyone wants another piece of.

Good cheese. No cheese police.