The Wonderful World of Cheese With Morgan McGlynn Carr
Some people find their life's work.
For others, their path is written right from the start.
For Morgan, her story begins on the road just behind the shop she would one day own. Long before she became Britain's youngest cheesemonger, before awards and acclaim, she was a four-year-old coming through the door with her father, wide-eyed among the wheels and wedges. At 17, she returned as a Saturday girl. By 19, she had bought the shop. At 21, she was Britain's youngest cheesemonger. Two years later, her shop, Cheeses of Muswell Hill, was named the best cheese shop in London.
Ask Morgan what she's learned over nearly 22 years behind the counter, and she'll tell you that cheese has a way of teaching patience. You learn by watching because a cheese never stands still. It ripens, softens, evolves. So do the people who come to buy it.
The shop has served generations of customers through birthdays, Christmas celebrations and weddings. It has seen people leave the neighbourhood and return years later. It has even played matchmaker. In one particularly charming chapter, two customers met while queueing for cheese and later returned to order the cheese for their wedding: the sort of happily-ever-after that feels borrowed from a Richard Curtis film.
For Morgan, this is what makes the work special. Her shop is more than a shop. It’s a small but very cherished part of Muswell Hill. Every cheese has a story that Morgan is there to tell, sharing her expertise, her enthusiasm and utter enjoyment of cheese with everyone who walks through the door. Frankly, it’s infectious. And Morgan’s work extends beyond her award-winning shop. She’s the UK’s leading cheese expert, a World Cheese Judge, Author of three books and resident cheese expert on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. That’s quite the resume, and we’re thrilled to have caught up with Morgan over all things fromage – and what a wonderful education it was.
The Cheesemonger's New Year | September
After more than two decades behind the counter, I've come to mark the year in cheese as much as I do by the weather. In a cheese shop you can see the season changing in front of you as the lighter cheeses of summer begin to give way to earthier, richer flavours which is why September feels very much like the cheesemonger’s New Year.
Cheeses To Be Eating Between Now and Christmas
December has to be Stilton. Colston Bassett is rich, creamy, savoury and beautifully balanced, and for me it is one of the great Christmas cheeses. It is one that belongs on the table when everyone is lingering after dinner, and nobody is quite ready to go home. In my shop we only stock one Stilton.
Morgan's Autumn 'Shooting Star' Cheese
Shooting star cheeses are those that have a particular moment in the year when everything comes together, and you really should eat them while they're shining. They are not necessarily cheeses you want twelve months of the year. Part of their magic is that sense of anticipation and their relatively fleeting season.
For autumn, my shooting star is Rollright - It is exactly the sort of cheese I start craving as the weather turns. Soft, rich and gooey all wrapped in spruce it feels generous and comforting without being too heavy, and it is a brilliant example of just how exciting British cheese is at this time of year!
Cheesemonger's Tip: Buy Little & Often
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Cheese is continually changing. The piece you buy today will not necessarily taste or feel the same after sitting wrapped in your fridge for two weeks, so buy a smaller piece, enjoy, then go back and discover what is tasting good next. It is one of the great pleasures of having a good cheesemonger too because you can keep tasting your way through the season.
Morgan's Cheese & Wine Pairing Recommendations
With the launch of Fortnum’s new wine range, we thought who better to ask than Morgan for her perfect cheese and wine pairings. And ever gracious at sharing her insights and knowledge, Morgan, seemed to enjoy the task at hand as much as we did.
It was such a lovely exercise because I never want a pairing to be simply ‘this wine goes with this cheese’. I want to understand what is happening between them. For me, the best pairings tend to do one or more of three things: enhance something already present in the cheese, balance its intensity or give you a really good contrast.
I also think the accompaniment matters. A little quince, honey, fruit, biscuit or preserve can act as a bridge between the cheese and the wine. When a pairing is really good you shouldn't feel as though you've simply put three delicious things next to one another. Each mouthful should make you notice something new in the next.
And with that, notebooks at the ready…
My Red Pick:
My White Pick:
My White Pick:
My Sparkling Pick:
Cheesemonger's Tip: Ask What's Tasting Best Now
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Don't always arrive with a fixed shopping list. The most useful question you can ask at a good cheese counter is simply: ‘What's really good today?’
Perfect for the beginning of autumn, pear and blue cheese is one of those almost unbeatable combinations, and this has walnuts, honey and thyme too. The walnuts act as a bridge between the pear and Gorgonzola bringing everything together.
Cheesemonger's Tip: Take Cheese Out of the Fridge Before Eating
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Cold suppresses aroma, flavour and texture, so give it time to come towards room temperature.
Inspiration
Discover The Journal, home to a host of our most delicious stories.
The Fortnum's Guide to Caviar
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