The Teakdoor Cheese Thread

[panama hat]

Surprisingly we don't seem to have a cheese thread on here . . . that beautifully aromatic delicacy . . . which can turn nose-hair curly.

We've always loved cheese in our family (both this one and with my parents) and some of my best experiences have been going to the Bretagne and Basse-Normandie on week-ends while working in Paris. The waft of fermented milk would hit you from miles away.

During my five years working in The Netherlands and France I made it my goal to stay at as many properties and eat at as many nice restaurants as possible . . . supported by a nice expense account thanks to my US corporate employers. Not all establishments were more expensive than your typical hotel, so my conscience was at peace.

To this end I concentrated on France and Italy . . . and the Relais & Chateau (Relais Gourmands) was my 'bible', where I would source my destinations - and tick them off after each visit.

Now, NZ is a very nice country with a very large dairy industry . . . and lots of cheeses. Unfortunately these cheeses are of the hard variety, also camembert/brie and the odd blue cheese.

So, a few days ago I decided to go a Dutch cheese shop (about the only halfway edible Dutch food) and bought a few fennel-based cheeses and then went off to a New World supermarket for some more variety, though that's stretching the definition of the word.

Digging into a cheese and bread lunch . . .



Of course there are the Stiltons, Cheddars, Emmentaler, Swiss, Limburger etc . . . all have their value

Excuse me while I dig in