A Tour Around the Board with Madame Fromage - Part I
When one of the biggest names in cheese offers a gratis pairing class with each pre-order of her new book, you don’t hesitate to Add to Cart.
And that’s exactly what I did when Madame Fromage, aka Tenaya Darlington, announced her upcoming book, Madame Fromage’s Adventures in Cheese, a few weeks ago.
Equal parts informative and engaging, the content of this book is situated within a charmingly designed, embossed hardcover whose beauty would rival any $90+ book coming off Rizzoli or Assouline’s stands. Within its pages are quite literally Madame’s cheese adventures shared through the lens of eight cheese board combinations and pairings that she has discovered throughout her travels.
Along with sharing the basics of cheesemaking and glimpses into the chemistry behind cheese, the audience are also treated to conversations with makers, affineurs, mongers, and others. If you’re familiar with Tenaya’s history (and present), you know that she travels all around the world doing cheesy things, most notably with a company called Cheese Journeys, which organizes the most incredible trips around the world, completely focused on fromage. If you’re ever in the mood to indulge your wanderlust and love of cheese, I myself have spent quite a bit of time pouring over Cheese Journeys’ website and itineraries!
A Philadelphia resident now, Tenaya is the Cheese Director for two wine bars in Philadelphia, both called Tria. She is also a member of the writing faculty at Saint Joseph’s University. It’s no wonder the woman is a writing professor, as you read her book you are absolutely hanging on every word!
To introduce her unique take on creating cheese boards, Madame Fromage shares a framework to consider. For a winning board, she recommends you include cheeses from three categories:
A conversation starter - this can be a cheese that’s new to you, or that you know will be new to any guests you may have. Or it can simply be a cheese with an interesting backstory, one at which any soon-to-be curd nerd would be shocked and delighted.
A comfort cheese - this can be a cheese that’s familiar and beloved. You already know this cheese is a hit with yourself and your friends, and it will be a safe and dependable crowd pleaser for your board.
A locally made cheese - this can be any cheese that was made within a reasonable vicinity to you. It always feels nice to support local farmers and makers by buying local. Plus, cheeses made by (usually) small local farms are freakin’ delicious and often times come with a pretty cool story!
During the tasting class last Sunday, we were treated to Tenaya’s take on one cheese that she discovered for herself on a trip to Holland some time ago. In the lead up to the class, attendees were instructed to find an aged Gouda - I chose Beemster XO, an 18-month age - with chocolate covered ginger.
All prepared and ready to go, I logged on at 4pm, ready to take in as much knowledge and good cheesy times as I could. I was greeted by Madame herself, and her friend and noted cheese painter, Mike Geno. If you’re unfamiliar with Mike Geno, he spearheaded an entire category of painting with cheese as his exclusive subject matter! His paintings are truly incredible, and I definitely recommend checking out his Instagram for jaw-dropping talent.
But back to the Gouda… Beemster’s XO is a fabulous cheese. It’s dense and fatty and nutty and chewy and has brilliant tyrosine crystals (a.k.a “flavor crunchies”). I was a bit skeptical of how it would pair with the dark chocolate element of the chocolate-covered ginger, but it was truly a revelation.
One pairing that I myself usually enjoy very much with a semi-aged or very aged Gouda is… drumroll… balsamic. A dense, properly aged balsamic like this one tends to work very well with dense, fatty Goudas because the acid and tang from the balsamic can stand up to the Gouda by cutting through it before it goes down. Also, remember that balsamic is made from grape must. This condensed, aged pairing goes very well with Gouda! Don’t believe me? Give it a try and leave a comment with your thoughts, and any other pairings you may love with Goudas and beyond.
