Cheese heaven

Lockdown was, if nothing else, a brilliant insight into our own food habits. In my house we, actually I, ate dangerous levels of chocolate but it also became apparent that we were spending a great deal on cheese. This was partly because we really cared that many small producers were facing financial ruin with the restaurants shut, and partly because we were stuck at home with a lot of cooking to do – if there is one thing that can transform a few simple ingredients into something delicious in the extreme, then it is cheese.

Cheese is the icing on the cake, the cherry on the pie and, when you look at the process of cheese-making, it is no surprise that it creates such depths of flavour and why we fight quite so hard for the browned, slightly chewy bits of cheese on top of baked pasta or on the base of a grill pan, or for those last bits of fondue. Making great cheese relies on time and bacteria, among other technicalities, to create its flavour. The longer it sits, and the more a talented cheesemaker lets it grow an affinity with the friendly organisms in the air, the more the depth of flavour develops; in some younger, fresher cheeses you aren’t looking for a massive wallop of taste; in others it is just the ticket.

And, although industrially processed cheese is cheaper in the shops, the milk is invariably from industrially produced, feedlot cattle, which as a system is crazy bad for the planet, and not much fun for the cows. It can also never in a million years match the flavour of a good artisan cheese. So that is my excuse for, when possible, buying the good stuff, even if I have to eat less of it. At least I am safe in the knowledge that it will be that truly mouth-watering, moan-inducing, awe-inspiring experience that comes from eating a really good plate of food.

So think about investing some of those hard-earned pennies on a really great slab of cheese, whether for yourself, or for a Christmas present for someone you truly love (can there be a greater present than cheese?). Great cheese is alchemy of the finest kind. Whether you share that moment with friends, or just all by yourself, it will flip you out of your everyday and take you to a different place. And, of course, it is so spoiling that no-one would think twice at the genius time-saver that is serving cheese instead of pudding. Just don’t forget quince jam, dates, celery or grapes to make it a brilliant end to a meal, with slabs of chocolate to hand round after. Love Tommi xxx

Here are my top five cheeses of all time, plus some great ones for Christmas, and a list of my favourite stockists

Tommi’s best ever cheese selection

• Witheridge because, like Ogleshield, something magical happens when it grills or melts

• Cashel Blue, because there always has to be a blue but I also love Fourme d’Ambert, Oxford Blue, or Stichelton

• Coolea, or a great Gouda

• Lincolnshire Poacher, or Hafod, or any good Cheddar in fact

• Parmesan, to dust over a salad, stir into creme fraiche, shave over pasta and a million other things besides

Tommi’s Christmas cheese list 

• A truffled brie - being the most spoiling thing in the world

• Stichleton, the raw version of Stilton, because it’s Christmas, and it just tastes so good

• A Doddington, or some other Alpine-esque, nutty hard cheese

• Rachel - because I love a hard sheep’s cheese

• One soft cow’s or goat’s cheese for those that want some more gooiness on their cheeseboard

And some great stockists

Great cheese shops have been springing up all over the country in the last decade and here are just a few who have been supporting British and other cheesemakers for even longer, storing and selling some really great cheeses.

• The Courtyard Dairy, Settle

• The Little Cheesemonger, Rhuddlan, N Wales

• I.J. Mellis, branches in Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews

• Jericho Cheese Co, Oxford

• The Cotswold Cheese Co, Moreton-in-Marsh

• La Fromagerie, Neal's Yard Dairy, Pistachio & Pickle, Paxton & Whitfield, London

• Sheridans Cheesemongers, Ireland

Cheese selected, why not try my Welsh rarebit soufflé, Tlayudas (Oaxacan pizzas), risotto with chilli, radicchio, and sausage or winter tacos with creamy greens recipes?