How to Start a Cheese Club and Why

Did any two words go together as delightfully as ‘Cheese’ and ‘Club’? Whether you are trying to eat your way through the entire Cheese Library, hoping to meet fellow cheese-enthusiasts, or just want an excuse to indulge in dairy delights, starting a Cheese Club can be the perfect solution. Here are some top tips on getting started.

What is a Cheese Club?

A Cheese Club can take many forms, but in essence it is a space and time for people to come together to enjoy cheese and each other’s company.

About three years ago, the idea to start a Cheese Club popped into my head when I was musing over whether I would live long enough to taste all the different cheeses in the UK – let alone the world. When you live alone, it can take a while to get through a chunk of cheese… but what if there was a way that people could meet up and share different cheeses, trying lots in one go? I posted a message on the neighbourhood WhatsApp group: Does anyone fancy meeting up to share and enjoy artisan cheese, maybe every month or so?

Within half an hour, I had ten enthusiastic replies. And so, the Marlborough Road Cheese Club was born.

We meet once a month on a Monday evening to talk, laugh, commiserate about the world and – most of all- to eat cheese. We have just celebrated our third birthday, having tasted over two hundred different cheeses from around the world and grown our membership into a thriving community. Over cheese, we have shared life’s ups and downs, sought advice, and organised other gatherings from birthday parties and raclette nights, to theatre trips and concerts. Some members said they didn’t know any of their neighbours until they joined, but now have a friendship group. It is truly one of the most wonderful things in my life.

Why start a Cheese Club

If this leaves you feeling inspired, why not start your own? But if you need any more persuading, here are some more great reasons:

Make new cheese friends

Naturally, a Cheese Club can be a brilliant way to expand your friendship circle with like-minded people. Once you start looking, you may be surprised at just how many cheese enthusiasts live nearby.

Eat the Cheese Library

If you are studying with the Academy of Cheese, a Cheese Club can be a great incentive to systematically try all the cheeses on your Learning Road. Tasting them with other cheese lovers and comparing your notes can be a brilliant memory aid as well.

And of course, when members bring cheese back from their holidays, this can be a great way to sample cheeses that are difficult to get hold of in your home country (bearing in mind any current import restrictions). At the Marlborough Road Cheese Club, we still talk about the time when one member brought back a Serra da Estrela from her homeland…

Spread the cheese love

A Cheese Club can be the perfect vehicle to introducing people to the world of artisan cheese. Some of our members had little experience of fine cheese when they started coming, and are now dedicated connoisseurs.

Support the cheese industry

It goes without saying that encouraging your members to seek out artisan cheeses will directly support specialist cheesemongers and small-scale producers. Although we never turn down a cheese from a supermarket!

How to set up a Cheese Club

The really great thing about a Cheese Club is that there are no rules set in stone – apart from the fact that cheese needs to be involved! You can set one up for your friendship group, faith community or even workplace.

At the Marlborough Road Cheese Club, the format is simply ‘Bring a cheese to share.’ But you might like to have a theme each time (check out this article for inspiration: Cheese Tasting Themes), or to order a cheese tasting box from a cheesemonger to try together. You could even do one of the Academy of Cheese’s online guided tastings webinars together – either live, or using one of the many on-demand webinars on the Cheese TV section of the website.

But whatever your format, here are some tips that always apply:

Venue

When it comes to location, the key thing is to make sure you have enough space (and chairs!) – particularly if you don’t know how many people will show up. Ideally, there will be somewhere on hand to either prepare or buy drinks. Good options include:

• a large living/dining room in a member’s house
• a café
• village hall
• workplace canteen.

For the Marlborough Road Cheese Club, we are very fortunate to be able to meet at Caffé Ethos. This means that members can buy whatever they like to drink, with plenty of non-alcoholic options available. We usually get through a few bottles of wine between us!

Communication

Accompaniments

Cheese is the main event of course, but adding some accompaniments goes a long way. Usually, we end up with a delightful selection of bread, crackers (including gluten free options), fruit, charcuterie, olives, vegetable crudities, chutneys and honey. During the summer seasons, we learn just how many of our members have allotments! It can end up being quite a feast, and many of our members don’t have dinner beforehand.

…and implements

Make sure you have enough small plates, sharp knives and cheese boards on hand. The best way is to divide and conquer – ask your members to bring what they can.

Take notes

It’s a good idea to record the names of the cheeses you try each time – particularly if you sample some standout ones that everyone asks about afterwards! It also gives you a way to check which cheeses you haven’t tried yet, if you are taking a systematic approach. You could also include some tasting notes – I always bring along a few printouts of the Academy of Cheese’s Cheese Tasting Flavour Wheel.

Love your leftovers

We all know how filling cheese is… During each meeting at the Marlborough Road Cheese Club, there comes a moment when we all suddenly become ‘cheesed out’ (usually after around eight or ten different cheeses have been consumed!). At that point, the Tupperware boxes come out and we parcel up what’s left for members to take home.  So, give a thought for how you can share up anything left over at the end.

Keep it simple

With everyone leading such busy lives these days, keeping things as simple and easy for people as possible can make all the difference. Members of the Marlborough Road Cheese Club say they really appreciate its flexibility. There are no subscriptions or obligations; people come when they can and stay for as long or as little time as they like.

Of course, this means I never know quite how many people will come (or what cheeses they will bring!). But whether we fill a table or the entire room, each meeting is – without fail – a happy few hours when we can escape the stresses of work and the wider world. A blessed time to enjoy friends, fellowship and fromage.

And if that doesn’t persuade you to start your own, I don’t know what will!

With thanks to all the members of the Marlborough Road Cheese Club and Caffè Ethos for their hospitality.