The American
La Cave a Fromage 24-2 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2LD • 084 108 8222 • www.la.cave.co.uk
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t’s the best of times to be a cheese lover. most supermarkets have a selection of cheese from around the world. But after the tasting i had recently at la cave a Fromage, i’ll go to speciality cheese shops from now on. like a good wine shop, the knowledgeable staff can tell you where and how the cheese is made and advise on how to use a cheese, whether at the end of a dinner party or serving with drinks to friends. la cave was opened in november 2007 by eric charriaux and amnon Paldi, passionate cheese lovers who now supply cheese to many top restaurants in london. theme tastings are held every other thursday, cost £35 and start promptly at 7.15pm (as Jennifer atterbury and i learned when we learned arrived fifteen minutes late much to my embarrassment). the theme that night was “the Balanced cheese Board” and oh, were those cheeses good! General manager todd Bridge was in charge of the tasting, along with Debbi Baron, a fellow american and managing director of Domaines & terroirs, helping to serve the wine. We started with valencay, an ash gray goat cheese, a favourite of napoleon. When his egyptian campaign
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went wrong, its pointy shape was sliced off. on the palate the cheese was fullflavoured with a slight herbaceousness i didn’t expect but found, to my surprise, i liked. the Domaine la Goujonne coteaux varois from Provence served with it matched the cheese perfectly. next came vacherin mont d’or haut Doubs-uP, Franche comte made from summer milk and served with the same wine. vacherin is one of my favourite cheeses and i would have preferred a light red Burgundy with it. ossau iraty, an ancient sheep cheese made in the ossau valley of the Basques, was my second favourite cheese that evening. the cheesemaker grazes his sheep high in the Pyrenees and can be very particular about whom he sells his cheese to. it has a wonderful rich aroma and creamy almost cheddar-like texture. With it, the Domaine de terre megere: viognier, vin de Pays d’oc-coteaux du languedoc was a marriage made in heaven. comte, one of France’s favourite cheeses, is made from raw milk of cows that graze on the grasses of Jura mountain during the summer. sweet with a somewhat rich and nutty flavour it went well with the Domaine de
Food and drink reviews by Virginia E Schultz terre megere-coteaux du languedoc; languedoc wines are getting better and better. i tasted the viognier with this cheese as well and preferred it to the megere-coteaux. the first time i ate epoisses it was made from raw cow’s milk. less stinky now that it’s made from pasteurized milk, it was my least favourite cheese of the evening. that, of course is my particular taste and not everyone’s opinion. it was, fortunately, softened properly and spread delightfully, especially on the white French bread we were offered. i tasted it with both the languedoc wines and think i prefer once again the viognier. lastly, we tasted Queso cabrales – uP, a spanish goat/sheep cheese. it has a vaguely sweet nose, yet an earthy taste lingers on the palate. Perfect with slightly chilled sweet Philippe lamour cuvee: vendages d’automne – vin de Pays d’oc, it ended the evening on a light note. cheeses of the same name can vary in quality and style, one of the reasons establishments like la cave a Fromage are so helpful. la cave stocks more than 200 cheeses sourced across europe, some made exclusively for them. H