MF's Cheese Lover's Gift Guide
Caves, books, beeswax cheese candles, and other gems for the turophile on your list
Over the last two years, I have whittled down my possessions to a few boxes and some favorite cheese boards which occupy a room in a house that I rent from my bread-baker friend Pete in Philadelphia. When I’m traveling, which is often, I love the freedom of living out of a carry-on suitcase, so it feels ironic to offer a cheese guide of objects at a time when I am less of collector than ever — and joyfully so. All this to say: everything listed below is something I still own! To you, my dearest dairy darlings, a list of items I enjoy nibbling, reading, sipping, experiencing, or burning…
Cave-Aging Gift Pack
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Jessica Sennett at Cheese Grotto has lovingly created a holiday home-cave-aging pack that includes a signed copy of my new book, Madame Fromage’s Adventures in Cheese. I own two Cheese Grottos, and I like to ripen a little wheel for the weekend (usually a Camembert or an ashy goat cheese like Selles-sur-cher). I’ll pop the wheel into the Grotto on a Thursday, say, and serve it to friends on a Saturday night. What guest doesn’t love receiving a cheese that has been perfectly ripened for them?
Open the hatch, hand them a knife, pop some bubbles, and give everyone a little Grotto lesson on the fly. It’s more fun than an Instapot or Air Fryer! Plus, my book is full of tips and has an interviewer with a professional cave mistress, should your love dream of becoming an affineur.
Artifaqt Cheese Dome
More cheese storage! I can’t get enough cheese objects in my life that serve as both storage and display. You can slip a cheese under this dome, use the whole shebang as a centerpiece on your apéro table, then pop the dome right into your fridge without having to rewrap the leftover cheese. A dome is the perfect gift for the person you gifted a terrarium to last year. It’s a self-contained cheese humidor, and this one is especially beautiful. My friends at Artifaqt Design — the best woodworkers I know — spent a long time to creating the perfect cheese dome, which has a hand-hewn base and a French glass dome.
Beeswax Cheese Candles
By now, you might as well create some atmosphere. Artifaqt also debuted these cheese candles this year (at my Cheese Ball, no less!), after we had a meandering conversation on the subject of candles, and I suggested someone should make a wax set of cheese candles that could be lit around the holidays like an Advent wreath. Check out their Birchrun Blue candle and their Blow Horn candle. Both are cast from small-batch Pennsylvania cheeses. The crew at Artifaqt makes each of these candles by hand, just as they do all of their boards, bowls, plates, and platters.
Rush Creek Reserve
Now, you just need some exquisite cheese to put in your Cheese Grotto or under your cheese dome, ammmirighhhht? Do yourself a favor and order some splendid Rush Creek Reserve — one of the best seasonal cheeses being made in America — shipped right to your stoop. Cheesemaker Andy Hatch is the first guy you meet in my book, and there’s a reason for that. His cheese is sublime. He only makes two styles of cheese, depending on what his cows are eating, and each fall he releases beautiful rounds of Rush Creek Reserve wrapped in Spruce Bark.
Made from raw-milk and his own pastured herd, this cheese is one of my all-time favorite cheeses of the universe. Andy ships them directly from his farm in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. I recommend getting three and eating one a week to see how the taste of each wheel evolves.
Also, Andy and I are running an Instagram giveaway that’s open until December 3, 2023, and the prize is a copy of my book + 4 wheels of Rush Creek Reserve! Stocking stuffers?
Cheese Potrait by Mike Geno
My favorite possession is a small oil painting of a cheese painted by my Philadelphia pal Mike Geno. Whenever I feel a little blue, I pop by his studio to bask in the glow of his “cheese wall” — which is whatever he has for sale. On my last visit, I fell in love with this portrait of a Vermont cheese called Ben Lomond, named after a mountain in Scotland. I love the stone-like character of this cheese, the ivory glow of its paste, and the teeth marks! I know a lot of people who have Mike Geno paintings in their kitchens, but I can imagine Ben Lomond looking very nice over a headboard or at the foot of a bed. The background makes me think of winter slumber, and the slice of nibbled cheese looks like a midnight snack.
Mike Geno also sells prints, holiday ornaments and calendars. Plus, he does custom orders to commemorate food memories of all kinds.
Cheese Board Bandana by Aly Miller
Earlier this year, illustrator Aly Miller and I collaborated on a cheese board bandana — I asked her if she’d include all the things a cheese lover would need to make a great picnic. By now you know, I love things that serve multiple functions; you can wear this bandana, or use it to wrap up a cheese and some snacks for a picnic. I use a set of 2 for picnic napkins. At $15 each, these are a beautiful bargain. Aly also sells illustrated cards, calendars, and tea towels.
A Cheese Journey to France or Italy
Now for something a little more lavish: join me on a Cheese Journey to France/Switzerland or to Northern Italy this summer? I’ve been cohosting tours with Cheese Journeys founder Anna Juhl for the last decade, and these culinary odysseys are scrumptious and sumptuous — full of home-cooked meals, maker visits, cheese and wine tastings, plus workshops with Yours Truly. Check out the two itineraries and let me know if you have questions.
Northern Italy Cheese Journey, June 11-22, 2024
Jura+Savoie Regions of France+The Swiss Alps, July 3-14, 2024
Cheese Journeys was recently written up in Food & Wine, in case you’d relish more details about the Northern Italy tour.
Mimolette or Stilton Necklace
Need some razzle dazzle for the cheese siren in your life? I love the The Cheese Explorer’s Collection of cheese necklaces and earrings. These ship from the UK and are the brainchild of British cheesemonger extraordinaire Emma Young, who is also the author of a new book, The Cheese Wheel. The two could make a lovely gift set?
Friends, thanks for supporting artists and artisans. Thanks for taking an interest in great cheese. May your cheese life be bright!
And, by all means, let me know if there’s something delicious and delightful that you think I should know about. I’m in Brussels for the holidays, so international recommendations are most welcome!
Cheers!
— M.F.
I just purchased the book. I can't wait to read it!