Fanatical about Fromage

[ Article (C) Media Wales and Nick Bishop. Published by Media Wales on 19 September 2009 ]

There are three great loves in my life: football, beer and cheese. I have a strange obsession with all of them. I can name almost the entire squad of my local team from about 10 years ago. I’ve spent a fair proportion of my adult life in bars.

But cheese, naturally, takes the biscuit. I get very excited when I find a cheese I haven’t tasted before. So much of the stuff in supermarkets is a huge disappointment. You take home a few thinking you have found something special, and when they turn out to be dull and uninteresting, you begin to realise it just isn’t working for you. So when you find that one you can cherish, you’re walking on air.

Even mega-selling rock stars want to be seen with cheese. Some are so obsessed they dedicate an entire festival to it. Just ask former Blur bassist Alex James, who helped organised last year’s Great British Cheese Festival with fromage guru Juliet Harbutt. These guys certainly know their cheese, having produced their own incredible offerings with the fantastically named Farleigh Wallop and the captivating Blue Monday.

There will be more than 450 magnificent cheeses to choose from within the walls of Cardiff Castle at the weekend (September 26 and 27). You’ll find some great Welsh cheeses from all walks of life.

Andrew and Helen Meredith can be especially proud of Dragon’s Back sheep’s cheese, reared in a smallholding near the Brecon Beacons. After just two years under their guidance, this cheese was a winner at the British Cheese Awards. Helen tries, with great modesty, to explain its success. “It’s hand-made by us, and everything that we put into it is naturally produced,” she says. It just goes to show how much you can benefit from careful nurturing. And while people with dairy intolerance or eczema often can’t get on with cow’s milk cheese, a good sheep’s cheese will prove the perfect match.

Other Welsh stars to look out for include Black Bomber, the ominous sounding but genuinely delightful cheese from Snowdonia. Amber Mist, also from the area, will always carry a whiff of whisky. A rather fiery character, this cheese is proving very popular.

There’ll be many fine specimens raised by the Carmarthenshire Cheese Company. High-fliers include the brilliant Pont Gar, and the luscious Llangoffan. And don’t forget the icons of old, like the famous Caws Cenarth Caerphilly, still going strong after over twenty years in the business.

Cheese can be irresistible when they are young and fresh. But several of them will most delectable when they are mature, and even when they are really old. Some can even be really great when they’ve become a bit mouldy. You can find the perfect cheese at any age.

One of its best qualities is that cheese will get on really well with all your other favourite things. It will be the perfect companion to beer, wine, port, cider or spirits. It’s not fussy or difficult. It can adapt to any situation, and still give great results.

But most people will agree lunch is the time to get the most out of your cheese. Make sure you treat it to a nice bit of crusty bread or some crunchy crackers to get the full flavour. Then, you’ll be on your way to the perfect ploughman’s lunch.

Of course, everyone likes to have their cheese, and their ploughman, in different ways. Some like to have it with apples. Some don’t. Some swear by a good chutney, while others insist upon something sweeter, like jam.

But hold on. It gets better. It’s not only The Great British Cheese Festival that opens next Saturday. It’s also the start of British Cheese Week. A whole week devoted to cheese. What could be better? How can anybody contain themselves with so many delicious morsels to choose from? I can’t wait.

The Great British Cheese Festival 2009 is held at Cardiff Castle on 26-27 September. Tickets are £8.50/£6.50 from Ticketline on 029 2023 0130

//ENDS//

To see a larger version of this article, as well as my other freelance articles, have a look at my online portfolio (pdf)