Even knowing how it ends, “The Big Cheese” was a nail biter. I saw this quirky documentary about a cheese competition a few months ago in Napa Valley, an early theater screening for a fundraiser. Now it’s available for rent (on Apple TV, Google Play and Amazon), which means you can watch it the right way: with a glass of wine, a cheese board and friends.
Playing to win: U. S. competitor Sam Rollins
photo: Obscured Releasing
Adam Moskowitz, a New York cheese importer and distributor, has been trying to raise the profile of cheesemongers for several years by staging a goofy yet ultimately serious contest called Cheesemonger Invitational. In recent years, Moskowitz has gone one costly step further, sending the top U.S. mongers to the Mondial du Fromage, in France, to compete on the international stage. “The Big Cheese” follows the journey of the 2023 U.S. team—their planning, their practice sessions, their struggles with self-doubt and, of course, the agonizing moments on stage.
For your own watch-party spread, you could hardly improve on the four cheeses Moskowitz sent me (above), all favorites of his and mine, too. And just look at that packaging, like origami. Whoever’s doing the wrapping, give ’em a raise.
It’s a wrap: packaged by a pro
If you’d rather watch on a big screen, here’s a schedule of upcoming theater showings of “The Big Cheese.”
Left to right (top image):
1655 Gruyère delivers abundant brown butter and roasted onion aromas and concentrated, lingering flavor. Aged for a year, months longer than supermarket Gruyère, this raw cow’s milk wheel develops crunchy protein crystals and off-the-charts intensity. Read more about the name and the producer in my earlier post.
Alex is made in the Bavarian Alps by esteemed cheesemaker Albert Kraus, using his brother’s raw cow’s milk. Near the end of its seven-month maturation, Kraus adds elderflower syrup to the brine used to wash it, along with a powdery ash made from hay. The finished wheel has a cinched waist, like Beaufort, and looks like it’s dusted with cocoa. The cheese smells amazing: like sautéed onion, roasted hazelnuts and bacon, with hints of cooked cabbage, omelet and sweet cream. The texture is firm and silky, and the beefy flavor just seems not to stop.
OG Goat, from the same Belgian creamery that makes the captivating OG Kristal, this Gouda-style goat’s milk wheel smells deeply of caramel. The tasting notes with my shipment say “condensed milk and marzipan,” an apt description. A rich, malty doppelbock or Belgian dubbel would be its soul mate.
The nose knows: Lilith Spencer
photo: Obscured Releasing
Mountain Gorgonzola, Italy’s most famous blue, is not for the timid. It is robust, often peppery, with a dense, fudgy texture and persistent, penetrating flavor. Spreading it on bread tames it, as does partnering it with figs, pears, grapes or dried fruit.
”The Big Cheese” is a feel-good film exploring passion, resilience, letdowns and comebacks. Two thumbs up.
