Ask an Expert: Tony Chuck of Teddington Cheese
With two branches at Teddington and Richmond, the lucky inhabitants of leafy SW London have an enviable choice when it comes to buying cheese. The shop at Richmond stocks over 140 different cheeses, approximately 60 % British and Irish cheeses, and the rest a wide range of the best Continental ones, plus membrillo, breads (at the weekend) wines, local honey, juices, sloe and damson gin, fruit liqueurs, port, crackers and gorgeous Petit Lucques olives – everything you’d need, in fact, to go with your cheese, plus hampers at Christmas (last year, they sold 500).
Delia Online editor Jo Hill paid the Richmond branch of Teddington Cheese a visit and asked owner Tony Chuck for his top 10 cheese tips.
Remember that some regions and countries are better at certain types of cheese than others. For example, you can’t go wrong with Cheddar from the South-West of Britain, such as our best-selling Montgomery. The grass is so lush there and gives really creamy milk.
Ask your cheesemonger for advice. We always ‘road test’ a new cheese from our suppliers before stocking it permanently and we are able to give our customers advice on new cheeses to try, based on their existing preferences. Cheese is ‘in’ at the moment – people love to try new things and get a recommendation for something that’s a bit different.
When serving cheese, many people overdo it when it comes to accompaniments. I believe that good cheese is best served on its own. If you have to have something with it, go for really plain biscuits.
My fantasy cheeseboard would feature a blue cheese, hard, soft, goat’s and something a bit different. My current favourites are a cave-aged Gruyere, Crozier Blue (a wonderful ewe’s milk cheese that’s softer than Roquefort), Tomme au Marc (the rind is washed in Marc de Champagne), Oxford Isis (a lovely semi-soft cheese) and Sharpham (soft).
When storing cheese, make sure the cut surfaces are covered or wrapped. We always wrap our cheese in old-fashioned waxed paper before it leaves the shop. If you don’t do this, it will dry out quite quickly.
Keep cheese in the fridge – as long as it’s below 8 degrees Centigrade it’s fine. In our shop it’s at 5-6 degrees.
Cheese should be served at room temperature, so bring it out of the fridge two hours before serving it.
If you’re serving a soft cheese, don’t return it to the fridge after it’s been out or it will harden and become less enjoyable to eat.
If you buy a large cheese such as our best-selling Colston Bassett Stilton, leave it whole for as long as possible and cut it only at the last minute, so that it retains its moisture.
Be prepared to be adventurous with your cheese choices. In the shop we have some really exciting, lesser-known cheeses such as Ubel Fiuritu from Corsica, Ould Lochnagar from Scotland, Scrumpy Sussex, Capria (a superb goat’s cheese) and Spenwood (a fruity ewe’s milk cheese).
Special Introductory Discount for Delia Online users
Delia Online and Teddington Cheese have teamed up to offer you a generous 20 per cent discount on your first online order. Just quote the discount code EXP20 at the checkout to receive the discount.
(www.teddingtoncheese.co.uk)
(discount available on new orders only. Offer valid until 30 September 2011. Please note discount will be applied to the cheese order but not the carriage charge, which will be applied after the discount.)
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