The cheeseboard in Dutch fine dining restaurants, I: Practices and opinions of restaurant professionals

Abstract

The difficulties in serving a cheeseboard are explored in this paper. From literature 1940–2010, for accompanying cheeses, a shift was found from red to white wines and from dry to sweeter wines. There is also a tendency to more and sweeter garnishes with the cheese. Interviews with professionals from nine Dutch restaurants largely confirmed these tendencies. In most restaurants, a varied cheeseboard was offered with sweet breads and garnishes. Many customers only finished the wine from the main dish with the cheeseboard. When a new wine was ordered, it was most of the time a sweet wine that did not match with all the cheeses of the cheeseboard. Recommendations for improving this situation are given.

Keywords: fine dining restaurants, wine-food combinations, flavour profiles, flavour style