So France didn’t bring home the Euro Cup, but there’s still plenty to celebrate on their National Day this July 14th.
We sat down with supreme cheese maestro, Jeremy Evrard of On Dining, also known as “the cheese man” in Hong Kong’s fine dining circle, to learn how to put together a perfect French cheese board that will impress even the snootiest of Parisians.
Perfect Cheeseboard 101
It’s about balance – Always start with goat’s milk cheese even if they seem stronger. Goat’s milk contains 50% of water, making the flavours only last for a brief fluttering on the palate. Start with two goat’s milk cheese – one fresh and the other more creamy.
Baah baah sheep – Follow with a sheep’s milk cheese for kick and aroma.
Make it hard – Serve a hard cheese, like a Comté, to cut through all the different tastes.
Utterly delicious – Time for two cow’s milk cheeses. Serve one that is soft with lighter flavour and another powerful enough to put hair on your chest!
Go big or go home – Finish off with a blue cheese, which is the strongest of them all.
Fruity tuity – Passion fruit goes well with cheese thanks to its fragrance and acidity. Yellow plum also works well since there’s also plenty of acidity in it.
All that buzz
Goat’s milk cheese pairs best with classic dry white wines from Alsace, like a dry Riesling.
Hard cheeses, especially Comté, works well with Chardonnay.
Cow’s milk cheeses are best buddies with Champagned made with pinot noir grapes.
To balance out the intensity of blue cheese, pair with a good sweet wine to mellow down the fire.
