Christmas Gifts For Cheese Lovers

It’s coming up to that time of year. Hopefully this guide to Christmas gifts for cheese lovers will help you in making the right choice.*

Christmas gifts for cheese lovers needn’t be a headache. All you need is a decent cheesemonger and we are spoiled for them in Ireland. We also have an array of award winning cheese producers that deserve celebrating. Throw in a bit of imagination and you can come up with a truly special and surprising present idea for your loved ones. 

I have decided to celebrate all things Irish in this guide to Christmas gifts for cheese lovers, as the Irish Cheese industry is vibrant, innovative and keeps on getting better year after year. This means that most of the items listed below are Irish made. Not all but most. 

You will be able to order the majority of these Christmas gifts for cheese lovers on line, and will not be forced to battle the crowds. 

You are very welcome.

*Hint: if it contains cheese, it’s the right choice. 

Gifts Under €25 

Sheridans Cheese Mongers are Ireland’s most renowned cheese mongers, and there is no doubting why. Their cheese hampers start at €10 for the “Make Your Own Hamper”, which is a great idea if you know what cheese you want to give. Fret not if you’re not sure, as their experienced staff will kindly guide you.  A full array of their hampers can be found here. 

Picture taken by Franck Le Moenner from Sheridan’s

Eating cheese is fun but what if I told you, you could make your own in just one hour? If Santa is listening, surely he will bring one of these Mozarella cheese kits to all the cheese lovers in the land. At just €19.99, this will surely make a wonderful present. 

Picture by Sheridan’s Frank Le Moenner

The next gift may seem mundane, but it is something I use in the kitchen again and again and again. This one is sturdy and you will never grate cheese in the same way again. I give you the Deluxe Rotary Cheese Grater.  This is the kind of cheese grater you will find in every single kitchen in France. 

Photo from www.kitchencookware.ie

This Irish Farmhouse Cheeses of Ireland book celebrates all that is great about the Irish Cheese movement. At €24.99, this comes just under the price bracket and would be a welcome addition to all libraries. 

photo from www.dubraybooks.ie

 Gifts Under €75

You can find a Raclette Grill in Lidl for €29.99. It will change your life. 

This cheese maker is a fun item. Why not make your own fresh cheese at home? Apparently all you need is milk and lemon. Simple and natural and oh so delicious. At €30, it won’t break the bank and the dairy connaisseur in your life will get great usage out of it. 

I move on to cheese boards next. There are two I’ve been keeping a biddy eye on. Both are irish made which is a plus, and both are equally gorgeous but of very different styles. They are price at €42.50 and €45 respectively.The first one is from Bunbury and is gloriously rustic. I love the grain of the wood on those.  The second one comes from Slated and is beautifully refined. 

photo from www.bunbury.ie

photo from www.slated.ie

Or you could buy culture (get it?) for the cheese lover in your life. Sheridans run “cheese courses” twice yearly and €75 will buy you four 90 min night classes. You will learn how cheese is made and there will be a focus on Irish farmhouse cheeses. Finally you will learn how best to match these cheeses with wines or other foods. This is a fantastic gift which I well intend to purchase for myself at some stage in 2017. 

Alternatively, you could take your cheese lover to Edelwise, a Ranelagh restaurant, that specialises in fondues, because who doesn’t love melted cheese? 

Gifts Over €75

At this price point, there is only one gift I can reasonably recommend. The amazing Sheridan’s Cheese Club. There are a lot of wine or coffee clubs out there, but cheese club is so much more up my street. The cheese mongers will select four cheeses according to ripeness and seasonality and send them to you every month. This starts at €120 for 3 months, €225 for 6 months and the grand finale of €420 for 12 months. Imagine, you could actually roll in cheese. 

Photo by Sheridans

Photo by Sheridan’s Frank Le Moenner

I do hope you have found this Christmas gifts for cheese lovers guide useful. Do shout if you need any further suggestions, I can’t think of many more things I’d like to do more than talk about cheese. If you are going for one of the many hampers options around the country, and are not into cheese yourself (as if), simply ask your local cheese monger. They are knowledgeable and keen to help. As am I. 

PS: The header photo comes with thanks to Sheridan’s. Although they are mentioned in this post a lot, I want to be quite clear that this is not a sponsored post. They simply are the no. 1 cheese mongers in Ireland and I am more than happy to recommend somewhere I’ve spent a large chunk of my wages in over the years.