We went to Taste of London food festival at the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed seeing what was new on the food scene. There was rather a lot to take in and we quickly began to seek somewhere to catch our breath, away from the crowds. We headed to the City Cellar, a relatively quiet tent with several small artisan producers of wines and beers. Quite naturally, Mrs WDC was drawn to the Tosi Gorgonzola stall which was offering free samples of their own dolce and picante Gorgonzola with glasses of wine. I was immediately struck by the quality of the dolce – it tasted so smooth and milky I thought I was eating ice cream (now there’s and idea…). Being so soft, light and creamy I thought this would make an excellent sauce with gnocchi.
Nice as the cheese is to sample, it really comes to life when drunk with wine, the slight acidity provides a perfect balance to the rich sweetness of the cheese. More robust reds such a Chianti will match the picante, and whites such as Pinot Grigio go well with the dolce. Clearly, the folks at Tose, who make the cheese, understand this too and have opened a cheese and wine bar in West Smithfield, London – offering selected Italian wines for both their cheeses. The staff on the stall were all on fine form, well-humoured and generous. Good luck to them – if their success is based on the taste of their cheese alone they will go far…