16 02, 2025

Something New Something Blue

New in our Cheese Rooms is FRONTINE from Chiaupe in La Plagne where the superb winter skiing goes one step further to glacier skiing in Chiaupe . The ski paths in winter give way to beautiful summer pastures for the local cattle from May until September.
We get our wonderful Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage from the Bellecote alpage, and now there is a revived cheese from Chiaupe called Frontine. The pastures are 2,580m above sea level, and are wild and untouched. During the winter months the cattle are in the valley of La Plagne, where the cheesemaking continues, but it is the summer alpage pastures where the cheeses are made that showcase the true sense of terroir. Frontline is a pressed non-cooked cheese where the curds are pressed but not 'cooked' to make a hard cheese. The Frontine has a fondant rich texture with hazelnut notes and the summer cheeses will have bosky herbal and some bitter notes from the pasture laden with wild flora.
You could be forgiven thinking there is an affinity with the Piemonte's Fontina cheese and you wouldn't be wrong. There was a time when Savoie was part of Italy and Piemonte (or Piedmont --- translating to foot of mountain in French) was part of France and there the crossover exists in the cheeses of both countries. Enjoy this cheese with a local wine - our Jean-Francois Quenard Mondeuse Elisa springs to mind as an ideal choice. Add Frontine to your fondue mix for even more richness to the dish, and even melted onto a burger would be memorable too. To think that this cheese was all but extinct but for a few enterprising farms bringing the recipe back to life and restore it to the hall of famous Savoyard artisan cheeses.
Kindly note the Frontine is currently only available instore, not online.

Beenleigh Blue a ewe's milk cheese from Totnes in Devon. The original recipe based on a Roquefort was developed by Robin Congdon, although Beenleigh is quite unlike what he had originally envisaged for the cheese. Of course terroir and climate forged what was to become the finished product. Ben Harris is now the head cheesemaker, and he still respects the original thought processes of Robin by taking the milk from a local farm from January to July ensuring it is a seasonally made cheese. We received our cheeses at the beginning of February and of course they are young, crumbly and with light threads of blue. The cheese almost melts in the mouth and there is a sweetness of the ewe's milk mingled with the bright minerality that is so refreshing.
We could keep them longer before selling, but frankly when Patricia opened one to taste she immediately thought about her late winter cheeseboard, and couldn't resist having this as her blue cheese alongside the British cheeses she had chosen to enjoy at this time of year. Beenleigh Blue along with Devon and Harbourne blues are pioneering British cheeses that showcase modernity with tradition in a truly beautiful way.

Europe is always a few months ahead of Britain when it comes to fresh produce. We are slowly seeing peas, broad beans, asparagus, strawberries and citrus galore arriving in our shops. Coming shortly will be the Laudani farm produce of oranges, grapefruit and lemons. The family run farm is situated between the Simeto river and the foot of Mount Etna, and the unwaxed chemical free production naturally takes all the nutrients the rich alluvial soil has to offer. We will always endeavour to work with farms and producers making the most of their terroir and how it creates products in a sustainable and ethical way.