Which he kindly did, choosing seven cheeses and making a circle of them around the edge of her plate. He told Val that she should start with number one and work her way around to number seven.
I asked for the same selection and soon we were happily munching away. The cheeses were delicious! The first was a mild chevre and the others got progressively more full-bodied.
Val eats faster than I do and she was the first to taste cheese number seven. She smiled with pleasure and said, “Oh, this is good. Take a big bite!”
I should have known better.
Have you ever eaten Époisses? It’s usually described as “pungent” – now there’s a word! It is so strong that it sears the inside of your mouth. You can’t taste much of anything after you eat it.
Yes, cheese number seven was an Époisses. Definitely not something to take a big bite of. But as I blissfully went ahead and started chewing, my eyes began to water and I urgently looked for a way to spit it out.
But here we were in Le Cep, an elegant Michelin-starred restaurant and that’s just not done. So I wiped my eyes and kept going while Val covered her mouth and giggled.
I love Époisses today but let’s just say it’s an acquired taste. And I had not yet acquired it.
Lesson #1:
Try it, you’ll like it!
(eventually)