Cheese Club Scotland – Freaky Cheese
Freaky Cheese is one of the best nights I’ve ever had at Cheese Club Scotland. Cheese Club Scotland is a monthly event that takes place at Malmaison, Glasgow. It’s hosted by Matt, Cat and Derek who all met on Couples Come Dine With Me. The October event had a freaky cheese theme for Halloween and they pulled it off spooktacularly. I’m a bit old for trick or treating these days so what better way to celebrate Halloween than with some freaky cheese?
My favourite cheese of the night was the Charcoal Cheddar. No, Cat hasn’t been burning down the kitchen again. Charcoal Cheddar is the world’s first ever black cheese made with charcoal from the Featherstone mines in Yorkshire. The colour was a little off-putting and when I took that first bite I didn’t know what to expect but my word, what a cheese! It’s a creamy mature cheddar full of flavour and it was a real treat to the palette.
There were two other kinds of cheeses – Pumpkin and Carrot Gouda and a Pesto and Lavender Gouda. The Pesto and Lavender Gouda is another freakish looking cheese with its vibrant blue colour, but it tasted amazing.
It’s not just the cheese that makes this night special, the accompaniments that go with the cheese are also a big part of it. It’s these accompaniments that make Cheese Club Scotland stand out from other similar events.
For the Charcoal Cheddar, we had it on a beetroot and seed cracker with carrot crisps and a beetroot and horseradish chutney which worked brilliantly together. The carrot crisps were fangtastic, and I even enjoyed the beetroot and horseradish chutney even though I’m not usually a fan of beetroot.
This is one of the things I love about Cheese Club Scotland, they always get me to try things out that I would never dream of and I must admit I’m always pleasantly surprised.
The Pumpkin and Carrot Gouda came with a roasted pumpkin seed crème fraiche and we ate it on a plain crackerbread with a bit of celery. The final cheese of the night was the Pesto and Lavender Gouda and just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder it came with a Parma Violet whipped cream and liquorice. The Parma Violet whipped cream took me right back to my childhood and it did not disappoint – it was delicious!
As well as the accompaniments each cheese comes with a different drink and you never quite know what to expect. They’ve had everything from Buckfast to French Martinis.
On this particular night, the drinks that came with the cheese were a Bloody Mary, warm cider and absinthe. That’s right – absinthe! Now I know why they make you sign a disclaimer at the start of the night.
The Bloody Mary looked like something that Dracula would drink from a goblet, so I can see how it fitted in with the theme but I’m not a fan. To be honest none of the drinks were my cup of tea but I tried them all anyway. My favourite out the three was the warm cider which I’ll definitely try again.
Cheese Club Scotland has a grate atmosphere and Matt, Cat and Derek are excellent hosts. When you go along to one of their events not only do you get introduced to new cheeses and get to try their weird and wonderful combinations, but you make some really gouda friends. Cheesy I know – but it really is an all-round brie-lliant night!
The next Cheese Club Scotland takes place this Sunday at 4pm and it’s a drunk cheese theme this time. This is the last one of the year so don’t miss out! I believe they still have tickets on sale. Also, if you are going make sure you take some extra cash along with you because they are selling Christmas Hampers which include the Charcoal Cheddar amongst other favourites.
Photo credit Jonathan Gardner
