Londoners Magazine

No fan of cheese would admit to not knowing about La Cave a Fromage, a cheese shop in the West End. Sarah Riches visits for a taste.

It’s the smell I noticed first. As soon as I walked in, my nostrils filled with the scent of milk a day or two past its sell by date. But it wasn’t unpleasant. Even though I’d already had lunch, the heady smell of cheese made my mouth water. La Cave a Fromage opened in November 2007 near the French embassy in South Kensington. It specialises in mostly French artisan cheeses; 70 per cent of its cheese comes from France and all the cheese is traceable back to the farmer that produced it.

Rolls of cheese decorate the window. Some were wrapped. Most, like Brin Amore, were not, so I could see its sheath of dark green herbs. It was covered in smoked rosemary, fennel and thyme, and smelt of fresh mint leaves.

The shop was spacious and modern, avoiding clichéd farmhouse décor with bright spotlights embedded in an office-style ceiling. Black and white photos of cheese hung on the back wall, next to shelves of red wine. Several cheeses the size and shape of a drum were displayed on a table in the centre of the shop. The centre of one of the drums was carved out, and I sampled a crumbling cube. Like parmesan, it was hard and dry, and smelt of ice that has been used to freeze unwrapped meat.

The whirr of the fridges caught my attention. Without my jacket I’d have been cool; inside the fridges the air was kept at five degrees, the room 11 or 12. I moved over to the seating area; three tables, each seating five, were at the back of the room near the wine. Todd Bridge, a member of staff, offered me a seat on one of the high chairs.

We ate some samples. First I tried a sliver of Fourme Maury, a soft, creamy cheese with a texture like Camembert. It’s a strong blue cheese, riddled with veins, but it didn’t taste too salty; its flavour was complemented by its sweet red wine edge.

Next I tried Bouton doc, which is popular in the spring because it is so light - great for salads. I used my teeth to drag a cone of the delicate white goat’s cheese from its cocktail stick. It turned to a paste in my mouth, quickly melting, its mild creamy flavour lingering at the back of my throat.

I realised I had grown accustomed to the smell of the shop, and couldn’t smell cheese anymore, which was a shame. But Todd encouraged me to smell Boulette d’Avene, a two-week old, aged cheese the colour of terracotta pots. It was covered in bright paprika and flavoured with garlic and pepper. It was pungent, like socks at the bottom of the laundry basket.

Too much cheese can be too much of a good thing.

24-25 Cromwell Place
South Kensington
0845 108822
www.la-cave.co.uk
Nearest tube: South Kensington tube

Cheese prices vary; £2.60 per 100g Lanark blue; £3.60 per 100g Fourme Maury; £9 per unit (the size and shape of an ice cream cone) Boulette d’Avene. £70 to buy fondue set; £100 to buy raclette machine (£30 to hire per night, with a £50 deposit)

Informal tasting events are held once a month for up to 20 people. Times/dates vary. £35; including six cheeses, six wines and bread.