• American Cheese,  Blue Cheese,  brie,  British,  Cheddar,  Cheese,  Cyprus,  European Cheese,  Feta,  Food,  France,  Goat Cheese,  Gouda,  Greece,  Italy,  Ricotta,  Sheep Milk,  Swiss,  Travel,  Unusual Cheeses,  Washed Rind,  White Cheese

    Honor Roll – Huff Post Lists Best Cheeses

    July 4, 2013

    Every day I say a small prayer to a higher power for not being born lactose intolerant. I mean, it would have been difficult to do this blog in the first place. More importantly, what would I talk about at parties? I get asked a lot what I think the best cheese in the world is. The beauty is, there are thousands. The Huffington Post has a similar view to me, in that there is no such thing as a bad cheese. but they have also compiled a list of the 20 best cheeses (in their humble opinion). I agree with all the listed ones, maybe not the order. Check…

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  • Cheese,  European Cheese,  Food,  France,  French,  Travel,  wine

    Taking a Pont (L’Eveque)

    June 30, 2013

    Summer has well and truly enveloped the Gulf region. I know this for several reasons: 1. It’s really hot. Like 46 degrees hot. Hotter than Satan’s private beach hot. 2. It is so hot it’s that time of year when expats take photos of the temperature readouts in their car and post them on Facebook/Twitter/everywhere 3. There is no traffic in Doha 4. I feel perpetually sniffly because of the Baltic air conditioning in buildings 5. There is a brisk trade in swapping and “borrowing” of the latest box sets and illegal film and series downloads among friends. It’s summer. It’s 46 degrees. What you gonna do? 6. I get…

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  • Aged Cheese,  Artisan Cheese,  Cheese,  European Cheese,  Food,  France,  French,  Goat Cheese,  Restaurant Reviews,  Travel,  Unusual Cheeses,  Washed Rind,  White Cheese

    100 Cheeses Down – You Cheddar Believe It

    June 26, 2013

    It seemed like a good idea at the time, but let me tell you this whole caper is trying 365 cheeses in 365 days is no easy feat. Which is why I am celebrating milestones where I can. What started as a simple catalogue of cheese i have eaten and the occasional good meal thrown in, has now evolved into something more – travelogue, food porn site, political commentary, restaurant review and general whingefest blog. That’s the beauty of a blog I guess. So the journey marks it’s first significant moment – my 100th cheese. This tranche of cheese moments is brought to you by my friends at Grand Hyatt…

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  • Cheese,  France,  French,  Travel,  White Cheese

    Milking It

    June 22, 2013

    I may have been burning the candle at both ends this week. It seems to have been an endless stream of show tunes and martinis. So this morning I was feeling a little bit precious. Given I had no monkey butlers and explaining the location of my house to delivery men, I was forced to create my own hangover cure/breakfast. Thankfully I am a resourceful woman. I did some hunter gathering and found small rounds of single serve goat cheese – from Carrefour – seriously something only the French could invent. Couple this with some flat bread, sliced tomato, a slug of olive oil and salt and pepper, and I…

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  • Cheese,  French,  Restaurant Reviews,  Travel

    I Second That Emulsion

    June 6, 2013

    When I started this blog I just wanted to talk about my love of cheese and travel. I have since found one of the fabulous side benefits is that as a “food blogger” I also have the opportunity to sample some of the best food in town. Last night I was invited to a private tasting of the new summer menu Gordon Ramsay Five Star Restaurant at St Regis Doha. I am a regular at the sister restaurant Opal, but haven’t had an opportunity to try the fine dining option. When the call came, I didn’t hesitate. Prepared by Chef Gilles Bosquet – who has a Michelin Star – the…

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  • Aged Cheese,  Cheese,  European Cheese,  France,  French,  Travel

    Quiche De Resistance

    June 4, 2013

    I am so old that I remember when quiche became really trendy in Australia. I am hoping it was the 1980s, but I have an ugly suspicion it was the 1970s. Suddenly it was everywhere and even Sara Lee was making them… Although known as a classic French dish, the quiche originated in Germany. The word quiche means “cake” which came from the German word Kuchen. Today, quiche is considered as typically French. And to be honest, it has become one of my favorite foods over time. What’s not to love about eegs, cheese, pastry and of course, cheese. Quiche lorraine is a popular variant that was originally an open…

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  • Aged Cheese,  Cheese,  European Cheese,  France,  Italy,  Spain,  Travel

    In Queso Emergency…Send Cheese

    May 17, 2013

    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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  • Cheese,  Travel,  wine

    Whatever Floats Your Goat

    May 4, 2013

    Whoever woke up one morning and decided to milk a goat and use it for cheese is clearly, a genius, and most probably a woman. There is nothing my delicious for a cheese lover than goats cheese treated well. You can have it simply on its own or, as I recently tried it at the W Hotel Doha, who hold a monthly foodie event – Sommelier’s Dinner – at the award winning Market by Jean Georges (yes, THE Jean Georges) The five course meal encompassed seafood, meat and of course dessert, but it was the starter of goats cheese cream and beetroot as well as a baked cheese that really…

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  • Cheese,  European Cheese,  France,  French,  Travel,  Unusual Cheeses

    Homage to Fromage

    April 26, 2013

    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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  • Cheese,  French,  Sheep Milk,  Travel

    Heavy Breathing – I Just Want (Brin) D’Amor Cheese

    April 6, 2013

    Well before this blog came into beng, I would frequent the cheese counter of a food hall within a hotel in Doha called La Cigale. I would spend Friday afternoons, and a good chunk of my earnings from several jobs, there. But as happens, familiarity bred contempt. I went there too often. I started to notice they weren’t taking care of the cheese. The staff weren’t as helpful. And we fell out of love. Actually, if I am pressed, I do say the main reason I stopped going was that the valet parking there is rubbish (white girl problems anyone?). But, in a fit of nostalgia (homesickness and missing people),…

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