Local Cheese & Wine Party

[hazardnc]

I am helping our local Slow Food convivium organize a wine and cheese tasting next month. Typically, how many cheeses should you have to sample and how much cheese per person should I allow?

Thank you in advance for your help - I don't want to look stupid at the event -- I'd much rather look stupid on these boards

Edited February 21, 2008 by hazardnc (log)

[gariotin]

How many people will attend?

I think the best number is only 3 - a soft ripened, a harder cheese, and a blue and try to mix up the different kinds of milk. Is this the center of focus for the event - then y will want more. I conduct cheese tastings in people's homes and try to never do more than 6.

The very best resource I think is a book called "The Cheese Plate" by Max McCalman - he give suggestions of many different styles and includes wine and accompaniments.

Anyone who loves to serve cheese should have this book.

The amounts will also depend on what else is being served, and whether this is the center of attention, but again the book gives you a couple rules of thumb, depending on your answers.

Let us know what you choose to serve!

[hazardnc]

How many people will attend?

I think the best number is only 3 - a soft ripened, a harder cheese, and a blue and try to mix up the different kinds of milk.  Is this the center of focus for the event - then y will want more.  I conduct cheese tastings in people's homes and try to never do more than 6.

The very best resource I think is a book called "The Cheese Plate" by Max McCalman - he give suggestions of many different styles and includes wine and accompaniments.

Anyone who loves to serve cheese should have this book.

The amounts will also depend on what else is being served, and whether this is the center of attention, but again the book gives you a couple rules of thumb, depending on your answers.

Let us know what you choose to serve!

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The cheeses and wines will be the focus of the event since the point is to introduce members of our Slow Food chapter to North Carolina products. We could have as many as 40 people or as few as 20 - not sure how many will come, but I anticipate this to be a popular event.

Since this could be viewed as the first of many such events, I am not averse to limiting the tasting to 3 cheeses.

[gfron1]

I do these gigs almost every month and my crowds range from 40-125. Regardless of the size group, 3 is the max that you should offer. I've tried more and its too much stimulus, too much chaos, too much, too much. I normally just do two now and link them somehow. For me they link by country or style, yours obviously won't since they'll be local. Its also nice to have the cheesemaker there if you can, or have someone cooking with the cheese to show people ways to use the cheese beyond on a cracker.