Cheese please! Borough Market’s cheese experts tell us what they’re putting on their festive spread

What’s Christmas – or any time of year – without a bit of cheese? Dreadful, says Hannah Twiggs, so she’s asked the experts at Borough Market for their recommendations on what to put on your shopping list this year

Christmas isn’t complete without cheese (Getty/iStock)

’Tis the season to be cheesy, and what better way to celebrate than with a platter of artisanal delights? As Borough Market, London’s culinary treasure trove, gears up for its annual Evening of Cheese on Wednesday 13 December, we’ve spoken to some of their cheese connoisseurs to find out what they’ll be putting on their festive spreads this year.

Estelle Reynolds of Neal’s Yard Dairy invites you to ride the flavour rollercoaster with Stichelton – a soft, creamy raw milk blue that’s the life of the party, boasting notes from green apples to beef stock umami. Meanwhile, Coles Loomi from Jumi Cheese introduces the Blue Brain, a Swiss creation so quirky it’s practically a cheese conversation starter.

Thomas Cary, the Mons Cheese maestro, throws Vacherin Mont d’Or into the festive mix – a cheese that’s equally at home at room temperature or baking in the oven. Karen Beardsmore of Trethowan Brothers shares a cheeky secret: let your cheese strut its stuff at room temperature for maximum flavour explosion.

From Bath Soft Cheese Ltd’s Bath Blue to the wild and wonderful Saveur du Maquis from Une Normande À Londres, Borough Market’s cheese experts are here to ensure the Christmas season is filled with laughs, cheers, and of course, loads of cheese.

So, mark your calendars for 13 December, as Borough Market invites you to an Evening of Cheese that promises to be the highlight of your festive frolics – because, let’s face it, what’s Christmas without a little (or a lot of) cheesy glee?

Estelle Reynolds, Neal’s Yard Dairy

For a classic festive cheeseboard blue, I’d recommend Stichelton.

Stichelton is made by Joe Schneider and his team at Stichelton Dairy on the Welbeck Estate. The range of flavours this soft, creamy raw milk blue can exhibit is extraordinary: from crisp green apple right through to beef stock umami.

Pair this with Rosebuds Port, red onion chutney and Sheridan’s Brown Bread Crackers. A sweet red, like the Domaine du Traginer, Banyuls Rimage 2021 is also a perfect match. The deep sweet fruit flavours contrast perfectly with the rich brothy flavours of the Stichelton. Or a stout – like the Export Stout London 1890 – roasty, toasty and bitter.

For something a little more unusual I would pair this cheese with walnuts and medjool dates, perhaps a little drizzle of Mellis Heather honey and a chunk of dark chocolate for a delicious and moreish cheeseboard.

Coles Loomi, Manager of Jumi Cheese

Jumi Cheese’s Blue Brain is a festive must-have (Jumi Cheese)

Our Blue Brain is a festive must-have – it’s a real conversation starter. This very special cheese is produced in Belp, Switzerland by adding blue and white mould cultures to very fresh cows’ milk. The blue mould can only develop when it is exposed to oxygen, keeping the inside of the cheese pure and white. Every brain is unique due to the two types of mould added. Sometimes they join to form a combined structure, other times they go their separate ways – such is life.

The character of this blue cheese is initially velvety only later revealing its full bouquet of flavours. It literally melts in your mouth and its roasted aroma gives an extra punch. All of this is rounded off by a light, refreshing sourness. The older the brain, the stronger the taste.

We recommend coupling this with some of our truffle honey and a glass of red wine. Pop it on your Christmas cheeseboard and see who is brave enough to cut into it first!

Thomas Cary, Mons Cheese

Vacherin Mont d’Or is equally delicious at room temperature or baked in the oven (Sancey Richard)

I’ll be having the Vacherin Mont d’Or from Sancey Richard on my cheeseboard this Christmas. They are the only remaining independent, family-run producer of Vacherin, making longer maturing cheeses which are equally delicious at room temperature or baked in the oven. I love serving it with Cracker Kitchen Seeded Flatbreads – crisp, seeded crackers that are the perfect foil to soft, strongly-flavoured cheeses.

When served with Christmas chutney, this aged cheddar tastes like spreadable mince pies (Trethowan Brothers)

Karen Beardsmore, Trethowan Brothers

My tip for a Christmas cheeseboard is very simple but something that’s often forgotten: take your cheese out of the fridge for an hour or two before you serve it to get it to room temperature (but keep it in the wax paper while doing so to prevent drying). All the flavours and aromas held in the cheese are more easily released, the texture will become softer and creamier and you’ll get much more from your purchase.

My top pick is our 16-month aged Pitchfork Cheddar which we make in Somerset, served with The Kitchen Garden’s Christmas chutney, handmade in The Cotswolds, which tastes like spreadable mince pies; the perfect combination!

Bath Soft Cheese Ltd

My perfect cheese board has to include Bath Soft Cheese and Bath Blue.

This Bath Soft Cheese is packed with mushroom, cream and lemony flavours (Bath Soft Cheese)

Bath Soft Cheese is a square cheese that’s soft and yielding with a white bloomy rind. The flavour is mushroomy and creamy with a hint of lemon. It dates back to the time of Admiral Lord Nelson who, in 1801, was sent some by his father as a gift. It was recorded that Nelson’s sweetheart was “gratified” by the flavour of this cheese. For a festive cheese board, make it extra decadent by accompanying it with Heritage Bath Square biscuits and drizzling with honey.

Bath Blue was crowned overall champion at the 2014/15 World Cheese Awards. Louis Aird, one of the World Cheese award judges described it as “poetry; like a river of cream over rocks, a perfectly balanced blue cheese with long, long lingering flavours”. Ripened for eight to 10 weeks to give a creamy blue veined taste and a characteristic, clean aroma, Bath Blue has been likened to Stilton. It’s ideal at Christmas for pairing with a glass of port and Christmas cake, the saltiness of the cheese compliments the sweet and bitterness of the fruity cake beautifully.

Michael Tatiana Guillaume, Une Normande À Londres

For me, the perfect Christmas cheese platter must have Saveur du Maquis – a light fragrant sheep’s milk cheese from Corsica. It’s dusted with dried herbs, juniper berries and chillies. Then Ossau Iraty, which is a hard ewe’s milk cheese from the French Pyrenees and offers classic light floral overtures, and Roquefort Vieux Berger (Old Shepherd), which is the only artisanal Roquefort produced today and is a true crowd pleaser.

To pair, Long Bride is a lean dry saucisson made with pork rump, and is the perfect accompaniment to all three cheeses. And you’ve got to add quince paste, it’s a match made in heaven for this selection.

Philip Crouch, The Parma Ham and Mozzarella Stand

For me, no cheese board is complete without Gorgonzola Cremoso. It’s a younger, milder variation of the classic Italian blue cheese, Gorgonzola Naturale. Made from cows milk in Novara, Peidmont, it is aged for up to 75 days. Try it on a piece of warm sour dough bread, paired with walnuts and honey, it’s perfect!

Maggs, Alsop and Walker

My top pick for Christmas is Lord London. This cheese is made with pasteurised cow’s milk from local farms and it has a clean citrus taste with an edible white rind. Baking it is a must; cut the top off and stuff the bottom with thyme, garlic and white wine, and voila! What’s more festive than everyone tucking into a delightful sharing dish.

Don’t go without Gorgonzola Dolce DOP (Gastronomica)

Gastronomica

I’ll be pairing Italian cheeses with honeys for a decadent Christmas treat. I won’t be without Gorgonzola Dolce DOP on a Christmas cheese board. Thirty-five days matured, it’s a creamy, runny gorgonzola that as well as honey, pairs well with walnuts, pears and celery.

Then I’ll take a trio of Italian alps cheeses starting with Occelli Testun al Barolo, an award-winning cheese which is matured for eight months and finished with a brandy distilled from grape pomace. It has an intoxicating fruit aroma from Nebbiolo grapes that balances with the buttery paste of the cheese. Then Robiola 3 latti, which is a creamy robiola made with three milks (cow, goat and sheep) for a persistent taste that goes well with chestnut or acacia honey or pair it with Barbera wine. And Fontina from Val d’Aosta. It’s a semi firm cow’s cheese which has a delicate nuttiness and a hint of mild honey. It pairs really well with nuts and fig marmalade.

This cider has been specially created to pair with strong cheddars (New Forest Cider)

Mary Topp, New Forest Cider

The delightful “Cheddar On My Mind” is a juicy, robust cider that has been specially created with the intention of pairing with strong cheddars. Made by Oliver’s Cider and Perry company, it is made with the help of cheese expert Sam Wilkin.

Richard Cartwright, Cartwright Brothers Vintners Ltd

When it comes to pairing with cheese, there are three great wines that I always to turn to.

My red wine of choice would be Trustullo Organic Primitivo, which is made from 100% Primitivo organic grapes in Puglia and has soft tannins and a velvety texture. Its aromas and flavours of blackberry, cherry, jam and fig compote make it an ideal accompaniment to any cheese board.

When wine pairing with cheese, these are the three bottles to turn to (Cartwright Brothers Vinters)

My sweet wine go-to is Real Rubio Moscatel. It’s a light wine that offers aromas and flavours of orange blossom, peach, honey and vanilla. Or, for the classic festive port and cheese pairing, Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny Port is delightfully smooth and rich with aromas and flavours of dried fruits, fig and plum.

For more information on what you can find at Borough Market, visit: boroughmarket.org.uk