What’s one skill you can use when you’re dating, when you’re engaged, when you want to plan your bridal shower, when you’re planning your wedding, and even when you’re newly married? Give up? Here’s one we bet you didn’t see coming: knowing your wines and cheeses. Who doesn’t like some good wine and cheese? You can buy a bottle of wine and bring out some cheese to have an enjoyable date night. You can have a wine and cheese bridal shower. You can ask your caterer to set up a wine and cheese station at your wedding reception. And you can even host a wine and cheese party as newlyweds! Trust us, knowing your wines, cheeses, and how to set them up is a useful skill to have. It’s also classy, and we’re sure you’ll have multiple occasions to show off your wine and cheese skills too. So, we asked Katrina Kuhn-Alcantara, head chef of Mesclun Events Catering, to help give you guys some tips!
In a typical gathering, three kinds of cheese are enough to serve your guests. You can upgrade to five kinds if there will be more than 20 of you. Rule of thumb is really simple: Go with variety when making a cheese board. Just mix and match different kinds of cheese!
So now that you have an idea of what it’s like to make a cheese board, there’s the wine to think about. The ultimate pairing tip for this is: “What grows together, goes together.” So if you have cheese from Burgundy, France, chances are, the wines from the same region will go with your cheese!
Typically, cheeses are served with bread, dried fruits, and nuts. In the Philippines, a lot of people like crackers with cheese. Katrina suggests serving good bread, dried figs or even dried mangoes, and walnuts or pili nuts. You can also serve it with some jam or honey!
It certainly looks elegant to have a cheese platter–it’s extra impressive when the cheeses are uncommon. So, if you want to impress your family and friends with your cheese knowledge, you might want to consider these instead:
These cheeses are available in specialty shops in Manila, though it’s not stocked up in big quantities since they are not as popular as the more common cheeses.
Feeling pretty confident to organize your own wine and cheese night? We’re all for it! Go ahead and experiment, guys, it’s going to be fun (and filling)!
Don’t forget to check out Mesclun Events Catering over at www.mesclun.ph or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can also call them at +63917 529 33 60, or email info@mesclun.ph.