Dear readers,

I hope that you are all keeping yourselves warm this winter! Yesterday, as I was walking home from university, I had a sudden craving for Gratin Dauphinois. I used to make this dish all the time when I was a child, due to it's simplicity. As a student, half of my diet consists of potatoes. I am well known for eating "mountains of mash" on the side of every meal and so I decided to do something different with some of the potatoes from the 5kg bag that I purchase on every shopping trip!

Fortunately, I had some parmesan in the fridge. I find that this beauty goes with almost everything, especially everything potato.

Hello fellow cheese-lovers! It's been a while but I hope that you haven't forgotten about me, because I haven't forgotten about you.

I am in the chilly north of England studying hard during my final year of university. One of my friends recently told me about a cheese-only restaurant in London called L'Art Du Fromage. All of the items on the menu are cheese-based including raclette, fondues and cheese ice cream. Please try it out if you are ever in this part of the world! - Hazel

Hey everyone!

Remember me? The British ex-intern. I am now back in my country but I haven't forgotten about cheese! I came across these wonderful jokes and just had to share them:

Sadly, my California adventure is coming to an end, which means that my days with Culture are now over.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my interning experience with Culture, drinking numerous cups of mate and listening to reggae music whilst working with Will in the cafe "Delta of Venus" in Davis. We have shared more than cheese stories (Will is a great fan of fluffy ducklings and yo-yoing dogs, for anyone that is interested!) and I have learnt a great deal about cheese, writing, publishing, journalism, social media and general magazine employment life.

I can confidently say that I have become much more interested in cheese since my internship began, and, as written in a previous post, I have found my pockets a little lighter as my fridge has simultaneously been filling up with fine cheeses!

I would like to give a sarcastic thank you to Will, my boss of this Culture Magazine Internship, for my recent debt. Since I began my internship with Culture, I have been sampling many different cheeses on numerous occasions. So far, I have tasted fine cheese at two events with Culture, Cochon 555 and California’s Artisan Cheese Festival, and other samplings have occurred during my personal explorations.

I have recently noticed myself loitering around cheese sections of supermarkets for longer periods of time than usual. I have also noticed my pockets feel a little lighter… and my fridge is filling up with artisan cheeses and interesting accompaniments (latest purchase: Ficoco, a fig and cocoa jam).

It turns out that I have been spending up to $20 a week on cheese! This is not good for my bank account or my waistline. I better cut back on this absurd expenditure before I become obese and poor… or perhaps you could give me free samples whilst I work, Will? Just an idea…

During my study abroad year at UC Davis, I have made many American friends as well as international. Two of my closest friends here in Davis are from Spain. They are particularly proud of their food traditions. I have enjoyed a fair amount of Jamon Serrano, Rioja and many, many Spanish omelettes (some with the addition of chips… not the healthiest of student meals!). As much as I have enjoyed these Spanish products, I have taken a particular liking for the almighty Manchego.

One of Culture’s recent articles has taken a particular amusing to my taste buds… the latest cheese-companion, mostarda. I am, and have always been, an addict for all things with a kick. A kick, that is, from pungent chemicals in food. Gingerol in ginger, piperine in peppercorns, capsaicin in chillis, allicin in garlic (although I must admit that I tend to avoid garlic due to the horrific oral “hangover” that it insists upon) and probably my favourite of them all – allyl isothiocyanates in horseradish, wasabi and mustard.

What tantalizing effects this chemical brings to your palate. A refreshing and invigorating tingle that takes the eating experience to a whole new dimension. For this reason, I am exceptionally keen on trying mostarda, especially with some of the delicious artisan cheeses that I have been sampling recently through my work with Culture.

Please put some on my cheese!

The Culture Cheese Wrap Contest evolved from Elaine’s experience at the Cheesemonger Contest by Larkin Cheese Distributors in New York. Among many other parts of the event, Elaine thought that the cheese wrapping would be a particularly successful and fun idea for California's Artisan Cheese Festival. We created a two-part competition for both cheese consumers and professionals, giving every cheese-lover the chance to show off their skills in the art of the Cheese Wrap.

The competition proved very fun indeed. Congratulations to the winner of the amateur competition – Mike Lucia from Copain Wines! We hope you enjoy the prizes.

Yesterday, I attended my second event with Culture: The California Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, California, what a fabulous event it was.

My eyes were overwhelmed by the selection of cheeses on display. There were towering cliffs of delicious blue from Point Reyes, brand new Wagon Wheel melting cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery, award-winning cheddars from Fiscalini, plenty of creamy goat cheeses from Laura Chenel and of course so much more.

Amongst the stunning array of fine cheeses, I came across some remarkable new finds. Goat milk fudge, wine infused cookies, olive oil chocolate, peanut butter sandwich cookies, mini lemon meringue pies, exclusive olive oils, bacon bread, an exciting new product called “glop” (made from a selection of oils and cheeses), and I was thrilled about bumping into a familiar item that I fell in love with at Cochon 555 – my beloved toffee bacon lollipop! (I bagged myself three little piggies! Does this make me a big piggie?!)