I hope that sometimes I give you helpful cheese advice in this newsletter as to what to bring to important occasions. What to bring to a bachelorette party, what to bring a friend with a new promotion, what to bring to a Netflix and Chill night, what to bring when your family meets your significant other for the first time, what to bring to someone you love, what to bring to someone you hate (jk, never bring cheese to someone you hate), etc. But what about when you go visit your brother in Utah who is currently a ski instructor because he needed a breather from being a fourth grade teacher and is trying to figure out what the heck he wants for his life? What about that situation, eh? What do you bring to someone who is in the process of finding themselves anew? I’m sure we’ve all been through this ourselves or had a friend or family member who’s gone through this. Well, if I wasn’t travelling to Utah, I would say give them quantity, people. We would gorge ourselves and eat it all and not have to make any choices about which cheese to eat because we’d have it all! And when you’re questioning what to do next with your life, not having to make small decisions about this or that is rather nice.

However, I’m traveling and have a suitcase stuffed with ski gear, so I don’t have a ton of room for the, like, twelve cheeses I want to bring him. Thus, I need cheeses that travel well shoved into disorganized luggage. This means nothing too delicate because it would turn into a mushed up ball. I guess I should also think about what Ollie likes, too, although he is a good son of a cheese shop owner and a good brother of a cheesemonger and will pretty much enjoy anything. 

Challerhocker – Ollie loves Alpine cheeses, everybody loves Alpines cheeses, and they are excellent travelers. They are hearty enough to withstand some banging around, and if they momentarily get too cold, which is likely in the belly of a plane, they’ll be ok. I chose Challerhocker because it is one of the Alpines we try to always have in the case, and if I’m bringing cheese to someone who is dealing with a lot of uncertainty, then I want him to have a good, steady cheese that will be here when he needs it again. Also Challerhocker, with its firm but creamy texture and meaty, roasted cashew, mountain herbs flavors, is irresistible and should be eaten as often as possible, whether you’re going through a major life change or not.

Isle of Mull Cheddar – It’s easy to get bogged down in existential questions and wondering what’s next, but a bite of this cheddar will bring anyone zipping right back to the present moment. It is one of the strongest and most complex cheddars in the case, tasting savory and peaty at first, with a bright citrus zing in the middle, finishing fruity and boozy. Another bonus: a big whack of this will happily be bumped around in transit, whether that’s in a plane, train, or in your bag on the T.

Chabichou – Ok, ok I admit it! This cheese gets too much airtime in this newsletter and I feel guilty leaving our other lovely goat cheeses to languish without getting any love here. Yet in this case, I really do need Chabichou because I want to bring a soft-ish goat cheese, and Chabichou is the only one that’s firm enough right now to handle rough handling. And it is my own comfort cheese – it makes me feel better and warm and cozy when I eat it. So I guess I’m pushing that off on Ollie and all of you, hoping it might make you feel the same way.

So here we go, a cheeseboard for the searching soul in your life, that can also travel squished in the corner of a disorganized suitcase. We have a cheese that is easily lovable and will always be around, a cheese that wakes up your taste buds ooh yess hello!, and then one cheese that’s pure comfort. In fact, this sounds pretty good for tonight, even though I’m going to leave the life altering choices for another day.

For the love of cheese and for wandering souls,

Kiri