Food & Drink: Piecing together a perfect cheese plate

I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time scrolling through cheese plates on Pinterest. When I tried to recreate them at home, they were a Pinter-mess.

So when Keri Buhman, the force of nature behind C’est La Vie French Cafe & Creperie and Soiree Supper Club in Hazel Dell, announced she was teaching a class called “Art of the Cheese Plate,” I signed up immediately.

During the two-hour class, Buhman, who has a bubbly personality and the quick wit of a comedian, commanded the complete attention of all 17 students who sat around the long wooden table in the center of the space. It serves as a cafe during the week and a catering business and special-events venue on weekends.

As we entered, we were offered coffee, tea or a mimosa. It was 11 a.m. on a Saturday, and the room was filled with people who love to indulge. Most of us chose a mimosa.

Buhman started the class by having everyone tell the group their favorite cheese. Someone mentioned fried cheeseballs and the room filled with sighs. Buhman then gave us a brief but informative tutorial on various types of cheese. Flavor is affected by climate, the animal’s habits and what they eat, and how the cheese is made and aged.

“If it grows together, it goes together,” she said to explain wine pairing. In addition, she told us that cheese should be served at room temperature. It should be “a bit sweaty,” she said.

Each student got a plate with various types of cheese: semi-firm, nutty Spanish manchego; soft, creamy drunken goat; brie infused with garlic and herbs; crumbly, crystalline Cypress Grove Midnight Moon; a semi-soft Morbier with a whisper thin line of grape ash; and Cascadia Creamery’s mild blue cheese called Glacier Blue. Buhman explained the origins of each kind of cheese. We took notes and thoughtfully nibbled small bits of dairy goodness.

There was a brief break during which many students replenished their mimosas and browsed Buhman’s store, which is filled with an assortment of culinary treasures and carefully chosen wine. When we returned, the table was covered in labeled plates of cheese, meat (from Elevation Charcuterie and Artisan Meats in Denver), and garnishes such as dried lemon wedges, Marcona almonds, artichokes, figs and edible flowers. Buhman instructed us to start our boards with the cheeses (hard to soft), then meat, then everything else. Nuts go last to fill in the spaces. To my left, mother-and-daughter team Lisa Kingsella and Miya Zimmermann composed Monet-esque cheese boards. Mine looked like it had been attacked by an angry cat.