I absolutely love a cheese course. Maybe it’s because I prefer savory things to sweets, meaning that if a cheese plate is listed on the dessert menu, I’ll choose it every time. In France, of course, you don’t have to decide between the two, as a cheese course is often offered before dessert. Either way, we need more cheese courses around these parts, so I got really excited when I heard about Stanley Tucci’s latest collaboration with S.Pellegrino — a four-tier cheese “cake” from one of InsideHook’s favorite epicurean shops, Murray’s Cheese.
“The idea of this simple collection of cheeses, it’s just a really beautiful thing to me,” Tucci told me during a Zoom interview last month. “My wife and I had a cake made out of tiers of cheese at our wedding.”
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We chatted with Cheese Journeys founder Anna Juhl to discover some of the world’s most beautiful cheese terroirWhile not quite big enough to feed a wedding party, this festive cheese cake can certainly serve a sizable dinner party, whether it’s a holiday celebration or simply a “just because” gathering. It starts with a hefty wheel of Murray’s cave-aged Cornelia, followed by a mini Brie. It’s then topped with creamy La Tur and sharp provolone. All four cheeses were carefully chosen to pair together perfectly. “It’s really about different textures and different flavors,” the 63-year-old actor says. “Some are softer, some are a little harder. Some are sharper, some are sweeter.”
The package also includes a 1L bottle of S.Pellegrino Sparkling Water to pair with the towering cheese course, which Tucci drinks with pretty much everything. “It has a slight saltiness to it that I really love,” he says. “So I think pairing it with cheese is great, but pairing it with anything is great.”
We assembled our own S.Pellegrino and Murray’s cheese cake in the office, and everyone agreed that the differing textures and flavors were delightful (which is no surprise, as Murray’s has the best cheese around). It’s also a massive amount of dairy that would no doubt spoil your appetite if you dug in too deep before a meal. Which brings me back to the cheese course — I often wonder why this delightful culinary tradition isn’t more popular. Tucci has some thoughts.
“I think people think that eating cheese is bad for you, but it’s not. Studies have shown that it’s not, depending on what kind of cheese you’re eating. There’s a huge amount of protein in it, but there’s also a huge amount of joy in it,” he laughs. “So why not have joy in your life?”
I couldn’t agree more. Have a little wine, have a little cheese and just enjoy yourself — life is too short not too, right?
S.Pellegrino and Stanley Tucci’s Holiday Cheese “Cake” will be available starting November 11 at murrayscheese.com.
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