French foods have long held a luxurious allure, especially at Christmas with their cheeses. However, experts now say the best cheese boards are British, as UK cheeses are more interesting than traditional continental ones. Producers are taking risks, innovating, and creating new cheeses instead of churning out the same products.
For Brie-style cheese, try Baron Bigod from Suffolk. For Camembert, Raymond Blanc calls Hampshire's Tunworth "the best Camembert in the world". UK producers have taken European recipes and added twists unthinkable for famous big-name cheeses.
"A French cheese shop has the same 50 cheeses and they never change, whereas the UK market is fluid and changeable," says cheesemonger Alan Watson. "New products are coming in every week and you never know what you're going to get. The French have more limitations because of AOC cheeses."
Danielle Bliss, cheese buyer for Paxton & Whitfield, says: "What's really exciting about the artisan British cheese industry is that now we are going one step further and developing new and interesting things. In France, the classics are classic for a reason but we don't see a whole lot of newness."
British blues like Beauvale, Mon Las Blue, and Blue Cloud rival Italian Gorgonzola. Cheesemonger Ned Palmer recommends Lanark Blue, comparable to Roquefort. He calls Lincolnshire Poacher the poster child for Britain's "postmodern" period of experimentation, described by Neal's Yard Dairy as "West Country Cheddar meets Comté".
Palmer notes a "new wave" of British cheesemaking, with classic Wensleydales and Caerphillys like Gorwydd Caerphilly, which won best British cheese at the world cheese awards. Watson is tipping it for his own Christmas cheese board.
