Bass player of the band Blur, turned cheese maker, Alex James is a well known name as a celebrity cheesemaker. He has successfully made the transition from working in rock'n'roll to working in curds'n'whey. I'm sure when he started out on his cheese journey some 15+ years ago, many people scoffed at him and considered it a bit of a joke that a rock star could produce great cheese, but Alex James has certainly proved the critics wrong and has now stood the test of time in the cheese-World. He and his team have made some rather excellent cheeses, so today we throw a spotlight on his washed rind semi-soft cheese called 'Grunge'.
Grunge is a farmhouse style mild & smooth pale coloured cheese with a slightly peppery spiced orange rind that just tickles the back of your throat without being too strong and funky. I had some on a hot day sliced and thrown onto a heavily buttered slice of tigerbread (the saltyness of the tigerbread crust and butter complimented this cheese very well)... a nice treat on a sunny afternoon. Washed (I believe) in cider, it would make sense to pair it with a light crisp dry cider.
I actually got this in a delivery of various Alex James cheeses from Pong, so expect a couple more of his cheeses reviewed soon.
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