En Faire Tout Un Fromage

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

A French idiom which, (roughly) in English, means to make a whole cheese out of something.

In other words, making a mountain out of a molehill.

The French, like the British, have many sayings connected to food & drink and the consumption of both.

My reason for mentioning this is that last week I spent nigh on 40 minutes in my favourite cheese emporium.

https://www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

A colleague & myself hatched a plan for a little work lunch on Friday. The two of us had started a 'Comfort Food Wednesday Club' during the pandemic when there were very few of us in the office. A strong camaraderie grew & part of that was down to the troops being fed with homemade treats from Mac & Cheese to Spaghetti Hoops on Toast & from Cheese & Mushroom Flan to Pancakes & Lemon.

Both SR (work chum) & me were in charge of the cheese selection whilst others looked after crackers & chutneys. A rendezvous at P&W for mid-morning & this is when we met JH who's one of the founders of the company & was behind the counter helping us on this day.

Our needs were a blue, a hard cheese & a soft one. Enough for around five or six of us. The first revelation from JH was to allow about 100g cheese per person at the table. Then came the tastings.

Oh, the tastings. There was much 'oooh-ing' & smiling & nods of approval from the two of us.

Then decisions had to be made.

@cotehillcheese - Salty creamy blue

@YummyStilton #Beauvale - Sharp & salty blue

@Poachercheese #Smoked - Lincolnshire jewel & had the aroma of a fireplace, my favourite

@hampshirecheese #Tunworth - Pungent, made its presence known to the room, soft & unctuous

All the choices went down tremendously well back at base. The company, the cheese and accompaniments made for a really convivial Friday afternoon & the experience will definitely be repeated.

Another French saying goes like this ..

Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai qui tu es.

Tell me what you eat & I'll tell you who you are.

AMM