FOOD&DRINK

Melissa Blease is cream crackers about the stuff. Here she conjures up the ultimate cheeseboard

A hurriedly assembled, mismatched selection of fridge-cold, supermarket end-of-the-aisle BOGOFs served with a couple of stale cream crackers does not a flourishing finale to a dinner party make. A cheeseboard shouldn’t be a boring afterthought; moreover, it deserves to be a superstar in its own right. As a reliably good starting point en route to cheeseboard success, you can’t beat the classic triumvirate: a ripe, creamy softie (brie is the enduringly popular option), a strong, solid slab (proper cheddar) and a boisterous blue (stilton, roquefort).

Allow around 60-80g of cheese per person, and take cheeses out of the fridge (and any wrapping) two hours before serving to allow them to come to room temperature, keeping them covered with a clean linen tea towel until ready to serve. Provide an individual knife to cut each cheese, choose a serving platter big enough to allow plenty of space between varieties in order to prevent the flavours mixing. And ditch overly herby/salted crackers in favour of a stack of oatcakes or similarly plain biscuits. Now you can really taste your cheese.

As your cheese-choosing confidence grows, consider adding a couple of twists and turns to your selection by adding something spreadable (move away from the Philadelphia and dive into the chevre, boursault and brillat savarin examples) and/or the contemporary version of the fondue: camembert, oven-baked to melting point in the box in which it came, served with fingers of sourdough toast for dipping. You could, if you so wish, be clever and match your cheese selection to the overall theme of the meal that preceded it (English, French, Italian, etc) - from this point, all manner of exciting options start to present themselves: cheddar with fruitcake or warm apple pie, stilton with pears and walnuts, or gorgonzola with runny honey and toasted pinenuts are just three reliably good combinations that lift a cheese course into the class of its own in which it belongs.

In the Best Possible Taste

BRISTOL

Arch House Deli Arch House, Boyces Ave, Clifton Village (0117 974 1166, www.archhousedeli.com) • Home to a fine selection of cheese from across the UK and mainland Europe. Pre-select from their really informative website.

Better Food Co Sevier St, St Werburghs (0117 935 1725) & 94 Whiteladies Rd (0117 946 6957, www.betterfood.co.uk) • Locally sourced, organic dairy delights.

Trethowan’s Dairy Glass Arcade, St Nicholas Market (07595 024811, www.trethowansdairy.co.uk) • Award-winning artisan cheesemongers (famous for their unique Gorwydd Caerphilly). Also run a Cheese School.

BATH

Fine Cheese Co 29-31 Walcot St (01225 448748, www.finecheese.co.uk) • This award-winning mecca for cheese lovers also stocks a cracking range of crackers and cheese-related accessories.

Nibbles 53 Guildhall Market (01225 460213, www.bathguildhallmarket.co.uk) • Explore over 90 different varieties of cheese, from locally sourced, artisan cheddars to a globe-trotting, continental range.

Paxton & Whitfield 1 John St (01225 466403, www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk) • Established in 1797 and holders of multiple royal warrants.

Legendary Locals

The internationally acclaimed Keen’s Cheddar has been made in Wincanton, Somerset by a family-run business since 1899. Over a century later, Keen’s remains one of only three artisan cheddar producers in Somerset (http://www.keenscheddar.co.uk/). Meanwhile, Park Farm (Kelston, near Bath, www.parkfarm.co.uk) churn out a delectable array of award-winning cheeses, with the acclaimed Bath Soft Cheese at the forefront of a selection that includes the equally splendid Wyfe of Bath and both brie and blue varieties. Third-generation farmer Graham Padfield found the original recipe for Bath Soft Cheese in an old grocer’s book, and makes it today in the same buildings in which his grandmother made her cheddar.

Copyright Melissa Blease 2011