At this time of year the most common question I get asked is “what makes it onto your Christmas cheeseboard?” The truth is that our cheeseboard tends to be made up of all the little pieces of cheese that are left over on Christmas Eve so ours is a very eclectic mix! We shut for a few days so once For me a balanced cheeseboard would always consist of a hard, a soft, a blue, a goats’ cheese and a washed rind. So if I was going to choose the best cheeses in our counter at the moment for a special Christmas lunch, they would be Montgomery’s Farmhouse Cheddar, Baron Bigod, Colston Bassett Blue Stilton PDO, Rachel and Maida Vale. Although I am also loving our Extra Mature Stärnächäs at the moment so it’s a tough choice between the classic British Cheddar, or throwing a Swiss usurper into the mix! Luckily we have plenty of both in at the moment!
To go with my cheeseboard I love to include some fresh fruit (grapes, sliced apple and pear) and some celery sticks. Then it’s a good plan to have some crackers and chutney. For a mixed cheeseboard such as this one I would go for the Peter’s Yard Original Sourdough crackers, an onion based chutney with a drizzle of the Fine Cheese Co’s Moscato Grape Nectar on the side. I would also pop a baked fig ball on the board as not only does it taste great, but it looks fab too.
On the drinks side, I’m a fan of having a dessert wine with cheese and I think you can’t go wrong with a chilled bottle of Sauternes waiting to be poured. Add in some loved ones to share it all with and you’ve got a great way to end your Christmas Day meal.
But back to the news from Pangbourne – We had a bit of a surprise with our online orders last week in that we suddenly sold masses of Oxford Isis. It is a lovely cheese but we usually sell a lot more of it in the shop than we do online. I couldn’t work out why every single order that was coming through contained Oxford Isis. I googled it to see if a chef had mentioned it somewhere but couldn’t fathom out what was going on. Then on Saturday a couple came in specially to buy some and let us know that it had been mentioned on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Luckily we had enough stock to satisfy everyone but it’s amazing what the power of television can do. We have got the wonderful Sparkenhoe Red Leicester in as a guest cheese at the moment. This is the only unpasteurised traditional Red Leicester made in England and it came 11th at the World Cheese Awards this year.
Other than that, our Christmas build-up is coming along nicely. We have lots of lovely gifts available in the shop – it is looking very Christmassy! Tomorrow (Friday 5th) is our late night opening event here in Pangbourne. Most of the shops will be open later than usual. There will be carol singers and a silver band plus we will be serving up mulled wine so pop in if you’re in the area.
Don’t forget that this weekend is the last chance to order your Christmas cheese from us! Our online shop and our pre-orders will close on the 7th. After then our counter will be fully stocked for counter service only.
