One of the most welcome new events on the Leeds food scene is the monthly Homage to Fromage – a club exclusively dedicated to worshipping the beauty of cheese.
The idea is simple – every month cheese lovers gather to sample cheeses usually based around a single theme. They sell out within a day, and even attracted ex-Blur man and cheese maker Alex James to their first event.
This month organisers Nick and Vicky have invited us to consider the merits of European blue cheese, which is one of more hardcore fromages and not one I am usually partial to.
Blue cheeses have cultures of penicillin added so the final product is spotted or veined with a blue, blue-grey or blue grey mould, and they smell too but in a nice way. There is a holy trinity of blue cheeses with protected designated status in Europe – Stilton, Gorgonzola and Roquefort.
Club members are then asked to tuck into blue cheese numbers labelled one to five in a wonderfully intriguing blind taste test. I like the fact much of the product is locally sourced or available in our best local delis, like Salts and Millies. There were also two supermarket cheeses reflecting their contribution to fromage fandom.
Chomping your way through high quality, often hand made cheese is one of a foodie’s great joys and attracts a serious number of local bloggers, including the charming folk from Food and Biscuits.
After the locusts have cleared the tables Nick and Vicky pop up to give us some background on Blue Cheese, and get us to vote for our favourite cheese. I didn’t know that Stilton was actually first produced in Melton Mowbray, and Stilton was actually just the 18th century staging post to London. So it should be Melton not Stilton.
Cheese number one was Spain’s Picos de Europa – available from Salts – and its rich and tangy taste had a few fans. Number two was Nottinghamshire’s Colton Bassett Stilton winning a few more votes for its nutty notes.
The clear winner was number three which is the award winning Yorkshire Blue made at Shepherd’s Purse Dairy just up the road. It’s not surprising this scooped gold at the World cheese awards as its mild, creamy taste just melts the taste buds. It got my vote.
Number 4 was Asda’s Extra Special Fromageries Papillion Roquefort which is matured in cool cellars for six weeks giving it a full bodied flavour that got a decent number of votes. Number 5 was Germany’s Cambozola, a blue brie which is another supermarket choice, but my least favourite as I hate soft cheeses.
Both number 4 and 5 reminded us that supermarkets can – and do – offer decent cheeses these days, so while we should support local delis you can also grab a decent cheese as you battle with the kids round the superstore.
Like all great wheezes Homage to Fromage is a simple idea – a really nice bunch of people sitting round eating top quality cheeses and educating their palate. It is one of the highlights of the food lovers’ month and you’d be a mug not to take up one the limited number of memberships.
It’s only a tenner including cheaper entry to the monthly club meetings to experience cheese heaven, and better still decent discounts on fromage at local delis.
* To join up or find out more you can tweet @Homage2Fromage
Homage 2 Fromage is a great idea, and a great night out, too! We held a beer and cheese night in November and it was a really good laugh; relaxed, informative and TASTY!