The gift of cheese, to my mind, might just be one of life’s greatest gifts (unless you are vegan or lactose intolerant and then it might be a bit of a nightmare). When stuck with what to buy those tricky to buy for people I always go down a foodie route. One of my granny’s favourite ever present was a hamper full of a selection of small bottles of rose wine that Tesco had started selling. Big enough for a glassfull, small enough to stash in the drawers of the unit next to her TV in her care home. A win on all fronts!
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Other ideas would be maybe the makings for a luxury hot chocolate, complete with new mugs. Or how about a selection of beers, savoury nibbles and a magazine subscription? When you start thinking about it there are all sorts of things you can package together to make a thoughtful gift.
So here are my ideas for the gift of cheese.
Cheese board
Start with a beautiful cheese board, like this one from VonShef When not in use the two side leaves slide into the middle section of the board making for easy storage. When in use though they pull out to extend the board on one side, and reveal three cheese tools on the other. Priced at just under £20 I think this is a gorgeous present, even on its own. However, if you add cheeses and maybe a chutney to it then it becomes a bit more special.
Actual cheese
Yes, you could grab some cheese from your local supermarket (and let’s face it the cheese counter in most supermarkets is superb these days) or you could order online for a larger selection. There are even companies that will offer a monthly subscription box. Imagine that… cheese on a monthly basis! My son would go nuts for that. One of our fave companies is Pong Cheese who have the most amazing selection, and even sell vegetarian products.
Chutneys
Some would say that you can’t have a great cheese without a great chutney. But where to start? Bay Tree are a great, award winning, company who offer lots of advice on their website about pairing cheese with chutneys or relishes. Well worth checking out. A jar or two alongside some cheeses would make a great addition to any hamper
Crackers or biscuits
If you included some cheese biscuits in your hamper would basically be delivering a meal or two in a box and would, I am sure, be thanked handsomely. Fine Cheese have a great selection of biscuits to choose from, or of course you could try making your own.
Cheese toastie date
I was going to include a link to a great subscription box called Cheese Poasties who sent out the ingredients for a monthly cheese toastie feast but it seems they are no more. Such a shame. But if you are a lover of cheese toasties then here is a list of the best places to get one. Maybe you could include an IOU for a toastie date in your hamper too?