Cheese, cheese, oh gloriously smelly cheese!!!

In my humble opinion, it is one of the finest food types known to man. Others may not agree; some aren’t so keen on the pungency, the mouldiness and the damn right smelliness that is so prevalent in speciality cheese. Me? I take the greatest pleasure in savouring something which is so smelly and pungent that it would put Shrek’s hairs on end.

Phoebe Weller (The Roving Framagiere) is a cheese devotee, spreading the cheese gospel and bringing her knowledge, experience and refined cheese palette to passionate novices such as myself. Her laudable experience includes working closely with Iain Mellis for 6 years, managing the Great Western Road branch of his cheese emporium for 2 and half and appearing as The Roving Framagiere on ITV’s ‘The Hour’ to teach the general public how they can go about making their own cheese from scratch. So as you can imagine, the chance to learn a thing or two from The Roving Framagiere was an opportunity which I could not miss.

The vehicle? The Roving Framagiere’s Chewtorial Chewsdays – a series of 8 classes/discussions/tastings which aim to take you on an exploratory journey through the exciting world of cheese. Each is a casual affair, with Phoebe guiding you through 6-10 carefully selected speciality cheeses, all chosen to fit within a particular theme.

Whilst working through the delicious spread, going from one cheese to the next, you are encouraged to think about the difference in texture, taste and smell whilst Phoebe explains why these differences might occur. Phoebe’s enthusiasm and joy for cheese is both infectious and captivating.

The first half of these Chewtorials have been based around Sheep, Goat’s, English’ and French’ cheese respectively and I am happily booked into the next bunch, which are;

27/7 Scottish cheese,
3/8 Irish cheese,
10/8 Washed rind,
17/8 Blues.

Recent Tuesdays have been a days of anticipation and excitement in the chance to expand my cheese horizons that bit further  (and my waist line).

I will update you all at the end of these 8 weeks with all the knowledge which I have attained throughout (hopefully I’ll have enough to give you a little Chewtorial of your own).

For now, why not try attending one of the Chewtorials yourself? They  will take place every Tuesday for the next 4 weeks at the Hidden Lane Cafe, just off Argyle St, behind Tesco Metro. They are £10 a pop and you must book your space in advance by emailing The Roving Fromagiere at therovingfromagiere@gmail.com.

I will hopefully be seeing some of you there to savour some fine cheese and quaff a glass or two of wine. If you are unable to attend but would like to be kept informed of The Roving Fromagiere’s various cheesescapades, why not become a fan on facebook?