Francis Gimblett

I received a galley of this book via NetGalley.

I am a passionate, obsessive cheese-lover with a goal of trying and documenting most every cheese that I can get. This book felt absolutely accessible for a layperson like me, but would also be great for a professional cheesemonger or cheesemaker. It's for anyone who loves cheese.

Gimblett's Guide is a straightforward who's-who of the best makers of British artisan cheeses. The book is loaded with bright, drool-worthy photographs. The author spends a page or two describing the cheesemakers and their work, then gets down to the business of describing their highlighted cheeses. There is a lot of fantastic information packed in here--80 cheesemaker biographies, over 230 detailed cheese profiles. These cheeses run the gamut in milks and types, with fairly balanced coverage. Whether you love or hate blues, or washed rinds, or goat, or sheep, or buffalo, there's a bit of everything. These are the best of the best.

Really, this book read like a big wish list for me. I felt like a child presented a Christmas catalog and who then proceeds to circle 95% of the toys. That is me, with cheese. Unfortunately, I am in America, so acquiring and tasting many of these cheeses will be a challenge--but one I am up to. I have tried a few of the cheeses before and heard of many others, and wow, this book introduced me to a lot more.

This is a worthy reference book to shelf alongside other trusty cheese manuals like Steven Jenkins's Cheese Primer and the Oxford Companion to Cheese.… (meer)