Jonathan said:Can somebody please point me in the right direction for serving a
cheese course.
1) In this scenario a hard cheese and a soft cheese is on a cheese
board in the middle of the table. What flatware should be included
with the serving board?
I hope this is a small table seating 2 to 4 people (max).
Quoted message said:
2) Suppose I am serving a hard cheese. Does each plate include a
cheese knife like this?
No.
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00184.asp
You don't need special knives for a cheese course. While cheese knives
with a variety of blades and decorative handles are available, you
probably have what you need in your kitchen drawers. You'll want to
provide a small knife for each cheese with a different texture -- a
sharp knife for semihard or hard cheeses and a spreading or
butter-type knife for each softer, messier cheese. Start a few cuts or
slices in each piece by following the natural lines of the cheese or
by cutting a small wedge out of a wheel of cheese. If you're not sure
how to cut a certain shape, or if you want suggestions on which rinds
to eat and which to trim, ask your cheese merchant.
Quoted message said:http://www.arthurprice.com/images/cheeseknife-p.jpg
If each plate requires one then is it placed closest to the plate on
the left side?
Why did you choose the left side of the plate? I would place the
knife across the top.
http://itotd.com/index.alt?ArticleID=219
In most parts of France, a traditional meal includes, at the very
least, an entrée (what North Americans would call an appetizer), a
main dish, and a cheese course—the latter either before, or in lieu
of, dessert. Depending on where you go, what the local specialties
are, and other seemingly random variables such as the phase of the
moon, a cheese course may consist of anything from a single small
round of cheese to a plate with three or four varieties—or even a
large cart with dozens of selections from which you can choose
whatever suits your tastes.
A cheese course is often served with fresh bread, such as a sliced
baguette—never crackers—and sometimes with fruit or nuts. But it's
equally valid to serve cheese entirely on its own, at least if it’s of
a variety that has sufficient coherency to survive the trip from plate
to mouth on a fork. When serving more than one cheese in a cheese
course, it’s customary to provide contrasts—softer and harder types,
milder and more pungent varieties, and so on. Fancier dining
establishments will carefully choose a wine (or even multiple wines)
to pair with your cheese, and entire meals of cheese are not unheard
of.
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3) If I am serving a soft cheese what is required for each plate? I
assume it is something like a butter spreader. Can one use the butter
spreader or do we have to have a cheese spreader? Where is this
cheese spreader placed on a table setting?
A butter spreader is fine, but I'm unclear on your concept. You are
stressing over individual knives for hard cheeses, but wondering if
your guests need one knife each for soft cheeses? Why?
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Any other information appreciated. Thanks.
Just a word of advice: RELAX; it ain't brain surgery.
