In which the feelings of nostalgia engendered by the seventh birthday of the bakery find expression in musings on, and pictures of, cheese, and details are shared of an upcoming bacchanal.
Good afternoon one and all,
First of all, with the Autumn season well under way and lots of new bottles on the shelves, we will be having our first tasting of the term on Saturday 25th October from 6 pm. For the uninitiated, this will be a very informal affair, lots of interesting wines to try, including a few rare gems, some bread and cheese to keep us going, and plenty of good cheer. Tickets are £40 and include as much wine as you can slurp, plus snacks. Places are very limited - you can book yours here.
Now, after a week of celebrating seven years of Hamblin, organising the bread give away, sprinkles on birthday cake, and lots of looking through old photos, the mood of nostalgia is lingering. On this theme of looking back, dear Lydia, once our bakery manager and now cheese maven at Neals Yard Dairy, asked us to try and guess which cheese we had ordered most of since opening. It came as little surprise to Hugo to find the answer was Lincolnshire Poacher, but that we had sliced, portioned, wrapped and grated our way through 900kg was startling to say the least. From very humble beginnings - a single A4 sized cold plate by the till, with a goat's cheese and a wedge of cheddar - we now have a dedicated cheese fridge, reams of waxed paper, and an increasing conviction that the farmhouse cheeses of these isles are national treasures to be cherished and relished. This is not to be jingoistic, as appreciation for British and Irish cheeses only deepens our love of Pecorino, Parmesan, Comté, Vacherin, Mistralou... you get the idea. At this stage I don't even know what will be on offer next week but can confidently say that whether you like your rinds washed, ashed, or bloomy, there will be something for you.
Read on for pictures of cheeses past and have a lovely Sunday,
Kate and Hugo