There are few things in the culinary world that can’t be improved with a little slice of truffle. Yes, even cheese can benefit from this earthy delight. I did think for a while there that truffle – be it oil, the actually item itself or its essence – may have jumped the culinary shark a while ago. You couldn’t even buy icecream without finding a dash of truffle added. But after a self imposed truffle exile, I have come back to the fray. Thanks mainly to the unlikely combination of fontina cheese, pizza dough and black truffle. This piece of culinary crossover comes from the kitchen of Market by Jean…
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Cream of the Crop
In Qatar, the two months of May and June are often the busiest and most frustrating you can encounter. See, the country shuts down for a bit of June, all of July and August. When I say shut down, I mean grind to a halt. People flee the 50 degree temperatures and head to their homelands or Europe. As a result, clients want projects wrapped up in record time. Events, launches and other openings of envelopes are crammed into a single week. Yes this is a white girl problem, but I have had a bit of a week both and work and socially. Deadlines loomed. Announcements had to be made.…
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In Queso Emergency…Send Cheese
How can you not like Spain? Its economic prospects are in the toilet, yet they still live, eat and love like nothing is wrong. The Four Seasons Doha recently held a Spanish and Portugese Wine and Food Fair, showcasing the best of the Iberian Peninsula. The evening was more of a fair and included samples from selected winemakers from the region, plus tapas as well as cheese offerings. The cheese on offer was more of a tour of Europe. Of course there was the Spanish national icon – Manchego. On a visit to Madrid last year, I believe I ate this at every meal. For five days. made in the…
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I am the Walnut …. or what does this cheese and the Kardashians have in common?
Listen, it’s a fact. I don’t like my cheese tampered with, adorned or prettied up. In my view, this usually means the cheese itself is bland and in need of some “styling”. And so it is with this creation – Rambol Walnut Cheese. I may have been feeling a little desperate, stuck in a generic supermarket and keen to get my cheese obligations done for the week. In a moment of weakness, I bought it, as you can see, I deigned only to try the smallest piece the deli girl allowed. I mean I love cheese, like walnuts, what could be so bad? It’s a processed cheese with layers of…
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Cheddar the Class
Cheddar. The but of many jokes, yet one of the most versatile and loved cheeses in the world. I had meant to do this earlier, but didn’t want to resort to generic, supermarket brands. Finally, I stumbled across this beauty at the soon-to-close (perplexing as that is) Dean and Deluca in Doha. Hailing from Glastonbury, the home of that rain-soaked celebrity spotting music festival each year, this smoked cheddar is a thing of beauty. Made by Greens of Glastonbury it has a strong, powerful flavor which is the result of 12 months of aging. Perhaps my new heros, the Green’s have been making cheese for four generations on the Somerset…
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Homage to Fromage
Like Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster and finding a decent coffee in the US, I believe I have unearthed the ultimate urban myth – a Frenchman who doesn’t like cheese. I have a friend, Dom, who must be the only real Frenchman in the history of Frenchiness…who does not like cheese. For him it’s not the taste, but the smell that he finds off putting. Despite this character flaw, he has am amazing sense of humour and will tolerate the consumption of even the stinkiest cheese in his presence. Which I recently did…at length. Dom and his wife Laila joined me for one of my weekend jaunts to Oman with…
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Feeling blue…Stilton left in the cold by younger generation
I love a blue…cheese that is. But this article makes m think that those Gen X kids need to man up and enjoy the greatness of Stilton. Pfft. Stilton sales tumble
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Vive Le Reblochon!
Am I the only person on earth (the far reaches of Bhutan not counted) who hasn’t seen Les Miserables? My love for most things Gallic is well and truly on the record. But, I mean, I WANT to, but the whole “Anne Hathaway is Annoying” business kind of gets in the way. So instead of watching Anne sobbing on screen, I decided to have my own little French Revolution this weekend in the most unlikely of places – Muscat, Oman. It’s one of my favorite places in the world and has a pretty heavy French influence. There is even an Omani French Museum charting the relationship between the two countries…
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Melting Moments – Fondue and Raclette Festival Hits Doha
Who doesn’t love melted cheese? In all it’s ooziness… For those cheese lovers living in and visiting Doha, head to the Grand Hyatt Doha later this month for a Swiss Gastronomy Festival – ie lots of melted things, sticks and a Swiss band. What’s not to love? For more information on the Swiss Food Festival click here: Swiss Gastronomic Week
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The Loving Spoonful
It had been a tough start to the week in the vineyard of truth. I was having technology problems, clients were being demanding and well, it was Tuesday. And it was March. When I heard about the new Grapes and Cheese night at Gordon Ramsay’s Opal at St Regis Doha, I am not one to pass up the opportunity to sample up to different types of wine and matching cheeses. After all, it was Tuesday. And it was March. The wines took center stage with a selection prepared by Sommelier Ashwin Tillousing who took us through wines from France, South Africa, Spain, Chile and New Zealand. Bearing in mind it…