Cheese, Risotto and Salad (by Biggs)

My incredibly generous friend Nancy took me to a cheese class at Black Pearl Epicure tonight. The very charming Will Studd had a chat to us about various things including raw milk cheese being smuggled across the Brazilian border, the best way to keep cows happy, what types of grass make milk tasty, why cheese eating is limited in the land of Oz and a fair bit about lactation timeframes of various milk-bearing animals. He then fed us so much cheese I started sweating curds and whey.

My favourite cheese was the Woodside Goat Curd which was tangy and custurd-like in texture, Nancy's favourite was the Wisconsin brewed Upland Pleasant Ridge and we both loved the super smooth and delicious Carles Roquefort  but there were plenty more to choose from including wine-drenched oven baked Le Conquerant Camembert.

After eating our weight in cheese we were served a Risotto of Cauliflower and Cave Ripened Taleggio and a Salad of Fattouche, Haloumi, Pomegranate and Sumac Dressing. They were both brilliant with the best part being the risotto topping of toasted anchovies and breadcrumbs. Nancy and I have unsuccessfully dabbled in cheese-making a few times but we learnt the secret tonight....."buy the cheese, eat the cheese"....I finally have a life mantra.