Every day is cheese day at Gothamist HQ but starting today it's also the Stinky Cheese Festival at the Tour de France restaurant group, whose many enterprises include upscale Nice Matin and casual bistro L'Express. The annual festival turns eight this week with special menus at each restaurant, plus lots of fragrant fromage. If you can't smell it from across the room, it ain't stinky enough.
We sat down with Executive Chef Andy D'Amico of Nice Matin to get a little insight into stinky cheese and how the restaurants will be celebrating them and cooking with them. D'Amico explained that the more moisture present in a cheese, the more bacteria and therefore the more stink. While some may be put-off by highly fragrant cheese, keep in mind that many of them are also capable of the deliciously creamy textures we all love—and while they may be pungent, their flavors are often more mild. When eating the cheeses by themselves, he advises giving them some time to warm up to room temperature and release all of their subtle characteristics.
Expect to see about five different types of cheese at each of the restaurants, which will be serving them on cheese plates, as well as incorporated into some of the dishes. At Nice Matin, they're offering the King of Stinky Cheese, a.k.a. Époisses, a cheese from Bourgogne, France that's aged just over a month. Then there's Italian Taleggio, also aged just over a month until the sweet, grass notes shine through. Though still funky, it's slightly less intense than its French cousin. There's also the seawater-washed Ardrahan from Cork County, Ireland, with notes of "wet undergrowth"—a good thing!—and a beautifully intense scent.
Winnimere from Jasper Hill Creamery
American cheeses—this does not mean Kraft Singles—include the Cato Corner Hooligan, a delicious unpasteurized cow's milk cheese aged two months in a cave in Connecticut. Notes of mushroom and truffle are apparent, as is a nice citrusy bite. And finally, the fantastic Winnimere cheese from Jasper Hill Creamery, which arrives wrapped in a piece of spruce, such is its tendency to ooze out of its rind. The floral notes of this stunner are offset by crunchy crystals in the rind, a holdover from its salt brine wash.
These fantastic cheese also demand some pairings, which sommelier Meghan McDonnell says can be thought of in two different ways: a "contrast" pairing that offsets the salt and funk with sweetness and fruit; or a "Like vs. Like" pairing that findings harmony within two similar things. She's going for the second option here, pairing the "Cuvee Classique," Pierre Frick dry riesling with the Ardrahan, bringing out the bruised apple and rust flavors in the wine. Or the Oude Boon Geuze Lambic from Belgium with the Hooligan, where the two can co-mingle with notes of sauerkraut and cider vinegar.
All eight of the Tour de France restaurants will be offering a stinky cheese soup amuse bouche, regardless if you're at the restaurant for Stinky Cheese Week or just interested in some delicious French fare. From there, special menu items for some of the stinky cheeses being highlighted will be offered. At Nice Matin, there's an outstanding Stinky Alfredo ($14.50/$19.50) made with a taleggio cream sauce, an Alsatian Lobster Gratin ($27.50) with butter sauce and Alsatian munster and a Panna Cotta ($9.50) made with roquefort, burgundy gelee and almond brittle.
Stinky Cheese Week kicks off Friday, March 6th and runs through March 13th.
