When it comes to building a cheese board that will impress your friends, Chicago cheesemonger Alisha Norris Jones says that restraint is key. Jones, who is featured in the new documentary “Shelf Life,” advises only putting out a maximum of five cheeses at a time.
“Try to get a wide variety of styles, so: something that you know that you’re going to like, something that is going to be soft, something that maybe is flavored and then something that’s going to freak you out,” Jones says.
Here’s what Jones selected when we recently met up at the Logan Square cheese shop, Beautiful Rind.
Brillat Savarian with strawberry jam
A French triple cream made from cow’s milk. “It eats like a stick of butter,” she says. “This is something I would serve to someone that’s like, ‘I love cheese, but I don’t like anything too funky.’”
Prairie Breeze Cheddar with Piloncillo syrup
A white cheddar from Milton Creamery in Iowa. “It’s served relatively young,” she says. “It’s not overwhelming. It’s not taking on, like, big earthy notes, as cheddars tend to do as they get a little bit older.”
Meadow Creek Grayson with rum raisin chutney
A washed-rind cheese from Virginia. “I’m gonna use very scientific words for this,” she jokes. “On the nose, I’m getting foot, maybe a little diaper. But with cheeses like this, I feel like their bark is larger than their bite.”
Marieke Golden Gouda with black currant mostarda
A gouda from Marieke Gouda in Wisconsin. “It’s kind of a cliche to say this, but: Happy cows make good cheese,” she says. “And these cows are really, really happy.”
Sequatchie Shakerag Blue with bourbon orange marmalade butter
A leaf-wrapped blue cheese from Tennessee. “Oh, it’s powerful,” reporter Courtney Kueppers says, the taste lingering on her palate. “That’s why I gave you a smaller piece,” Jones says.
Where do the pros shop for cheese in Chicago?
Through her time in the industry, Jones has built relationships with producers throughout the region and beyond. When she’s making cheese boards for customers or big events, she’s often sourcing directly from cheesemakers themselves.
But there are some Chicago shops that are go-tos. She recommends Beautiful Rind (2211 N. Milwaukee Ave.), a shop largely focused on American cheeses, and All Together Now (2119 W. Chicago Ave.), which offers a heavy rotation of sheep and goat cheeses. She’s also been known to frequent the cheese counter at Whole Foods.
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.