The Cheese Geek is a online cheesemonger that has been set out to provide the best quality cheeses with a click of a button. The man behind this innovative concept is Edward Hancock. He formed the company in 2017 in his home and realised it was more than a hobby and he moved into the first business premises a year later.

Prior to setting up The Cheese Geek, Edward was a fund manager, building algorithms for systematic funds, and it was this technological understanding that he applied his knowledge in creating an algorithm to allocate cheese to subscribers. He loved the idea of his subscribers getting the opportunity to learn more about what they were eating and also having access to the condiments that would go best with them.

This subscription box is like no other, they take pride and joy in getting your cheeses delivered fresh  and right to your door. They use sheep wool, a bi-product which is environmentally friendly – with no plastics or polystyrene – which maintains the right temperature for 48 hours after they chill it.The Cheese Geek not only brings you the freshest cheeses but they also hold events as well; from small group blind tasting experiences, dinner parties and cheese and wine tastings, to weddings or corporate events of all shapes and sizes, they can provide everything you need. We had the pleasure of being invited to their launch of Christmas cheeses last month. On arrival Edward greeted us at the door holding a tray of Tunworth cheese on honey glazed crackers- a delightful taster.

There were two tables set out one with a display of condiments and the other with a lot of tasty looking cheeses. We started off the evening with 8 different hard cheeses:

Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire – buttery, nutty, yoghurty.
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester – smooth, nutty and buttery.
Lancashire Bomb – strong, nutty and creamy.
Montgomery’s Cheddar – crumbly, hard, grainy, aromatic, strong with a long finish.
Keens Cheddar – strong, tangy cheddar with a mellow depth of flavour.
Comte – fudge, Butterscotch, Toasted Hazelnuts.
Vintage Poacher – tangy, nutty, melted butter on toast.
Truffle Pecorino – Milky nuttiness, bordering on sweet caramel, with an earthiness emphasised by the truffles.

We were given the chance to create our very own dream cheeseboard! To create our ultimate cheeseboard, we had to choose 5 of our favourite cheeses, this was pretty easy for my sister and I as we had pretty much the same taste! From the first 8 cheeses we chose the Bomb we just both loved how crumbly and creamy the taste and texture was, mouthwatering just thinking about it. Our second choice was the Truffle Pecorino with its milky and truffle taste we just wanted more.

Whilst we were trying the cheeses, Tatty from ‘The Wine Down’ passionately described which wines would go with what. She had bought 5 different wines:

Tapiz Torrontes Extra Brut
Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Sur Lie 2018 Domaine de la Tourmaline
Edelzwicher Special Cuvee, Joseph Cattin 2017
Oliver Dubois Cuvee Prestige Pinot Noir 2017 VdF
Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2016

Next up on the cheeses were some of their soft cheeses:

Baron Bigod – buttery indulgence, smooth mushroom earthy-ness
Bath Soft – brie-style, creamy, mushroomy with a hint of citrus
Brie de Meaux – mushroom, damp leaves, butter
Tunworth – mushroom, butter, cabbage
Vacherin – creamy, smokey, decadent and gooey
Epoisses – butter, silky, creamy

From the soft cheese selection we chose our all time favourite Tunworth and Epoisses. Both different from each other but very delicious and addictive. Next were the blue cheeses, which paired nicely with ‘Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2016’ a dessert wine. The sweetness of the wine brings out the salty flavours in the blue cheese, making them a great pair.

Beauvale – creamy, mellow, salty spice
Cropwell Bishop Blue Stilton – nutty caramel sweetness with a clean finish
Burt’s Blue – Butter, Cream
Shropshire Blue – Salt, Spice, Musty

For our final cheese we chose the Shropshire Blue – the best one we thought out of the blues. It was mouthwateringly good.After choosing our favourite 5 we all moved to the table with all the condiments. There was a lot of fruit and herbs to choose from, to create our ultimate Christmas cheeseboard.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot about the cheeses and tasted great wines. This is a great gift for someone special this Christmas, or if you fancy treating yourself – we highly recommend, you won’t regret it!

*Disclosure: This was an invite to The Cheese Geek Christmas Event.