The Perfect Cheeseboard

With Christmas around the corner, it's the perfect time to indulge in all things tasty. I'm a sucker for crudités, cheeses and all things nibbles && these are often forgotten about when you're running around Sainsbury's getting pigs in blankets && everything else. Quite frankly, I don't think any Christmas is complete with a cheeseboard taking centre stage.

Matthews Cheese in Newcastle Grainger Market are on hand for this. Matthews has been in the Grainger Market for about 65 years - these guys know their cheese. I've known the family who run the shop for years so it was the perfect opportunity to get involved and experiment. Lisa, the shop owner has known me since I was about 3 years old so we had a right old natter whilst she was sorting my board up. 

Lisa filled my board up with some amazing cheeses - things I wouldn't even think of buying usually. I'm one of these who sticks to cheddars && camambert, so all these amazing looking cheeses were a whole new world to me. I couldn't wait to get it home to have a look see what I had. The board itself looked so good - I think it being on a physical board made it that touch more fancy, I was showing it off to everyone once I got back to work.

I roped my mam into the tasting session which she didn't complain about at all. We unwrapped all the cheeses and slowly tasted each and every one. On my board I had: Blue stilton, Wensleydale & Cranberries, Smoked Brie, Welsh Cheddar, Green Thunder, Wensleydale Orange & Champagne and finally Afterburn. As you can tell I got a huge variety of flavours to try (not gonna lie, I didn't even know half these cheeses existed until now)

Doesn't it just look amazing in front of a fire burning in the background?! They pair perfectly with a bottle of Port && some grapes. There's something quite comforting in cheeseboards, burning fires && a little glass of port.

My favourite was definitely the smoked brie && green thunder. These are two I had never tried before - especially the green thunder. They had super creamy textures which I love in a cheese so these are something I think I'll definitely be rebuying. My mam absolutely loved the afterburn && Wensleydale & cranberries.

I think there was a perfect variety of things to try - especially if you're new to cheese. You could definitely pop down to the shop and have a look around to see what they have to offer, the staff go above && beyond the make sure your order is perfect. There's also no such thing as a cheeseboard too big.

You can create a budget && what sort of cheese you like, then the lovely ladies at Matthews do the rest. It really is that simple. I think this would be perfect as a gift for someone or just the indulge in over the festive period. Matthews stock over varieties of cheese so you won't be short of choice. You've still got a few days to get your hands on one just in time for Saint Nick coming.

What's your favourite cheeses to try?

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