French Cheese, Homage 2 Fromage

It's that time of the month again.  Time for the cheese lovers of Leeds to get together, in a warm room above a pub, and sample some of the best cheese known to man.  The theme to this evening's cheese club was French Cheese and there isn't a lot the French don't know about fromage.  Some would argue* that French cheese is the finest in the world and tonight we had nine of their finest to sample.

As with us here in Blighty, there is a French cheese for every pallet.  From the soft and flavoursome Brie de Meaux (the king of French cheese) to the powerful Langres, a rind washed cheese to give Stinking Bishop a run for it's money, and everything in between.  I had been cheeky in the run-up to to this month's event and suggested that Morbier should be one of the cheeses on offer.  I presumed that not many people would have tried it never mind heard of it.  A soft mountain cheese with a layer of soot running through the middle isn't the kind of thing you find on the average supermarket shelf.

I was more than ammused when, after tasting all of the cheeses, Nick**, in his usual run through of what we had eaten, announced the secret behind Morbier's dark centre.  The audible gasp made me chuckle.

The evening was rounded off with a cheese quiz.  I love a quiz and I love cheese but clearly not to the extent of some of the homagers.  There were some gripes about the questions (I don't think ewe's milk is unusual for a cheese) but there was nothing to sour the evening.

*mainly the French.
**Nick and Vicky are the masterminds behind Homage 2 Fromage and need and deserve all the praise in the world.  What they have achieved in 10 months is staggering.