Trethowan’s Dairy Shop

Monday 31st March 2008

This is a Crackerjack review of Trethowan’s Dairy Shop. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

It may have been served on a paper plate and eaten with a wooden fork on a park bench in the rain, but this was the most satisfying lunch I’ve eaten all year.
Trethowan’s Dairy Shop in St Nicholas Market opened at the end of last year. As well as making its own superb Caerphilly, it also sells a small, select range of artisan cheeses from some of the best cheese makers around.
The latest development has been the launch of hot food at lunchtimes. By hot food, I essentially mean toasted cheese sandwiches (but probably the best toasted cheese sandwiches you’ll ever taste) and Raclette.
Raclette is a traditional Swiss dish made by melting the cut end of a Raclette cheese over a flame or grill and then scraping the melted cheese on to hot new potatoes, gherkins and tiny silver skin onions.
Raclette is a traditional semi-hard cow’s milk cheese from the Savoie region of France and is also produced in parts of Switzerland. It is ripened for at least eight weeks, when the flavour and excellent melting qualities develop. It also has a washed rind, which means the moisture prevents the rind from catching light when placed near the grill or fire.
Served from around noon each day, Monday to Saturday, Trethowan’s Dairy Shop has even employed a seasoned “Racleteer” in Emilie, and she created my Raclette with enormous skill.
I watched her place the cut surface of the Raclette cheese close to the special grill and as it bubbled and blistered, she scraped it off on top of a plate of perfectly cooked new potatoes, gherkins and tiny pickled silverskin onions. As a finishing touch, she sprinkled a generous twist of freshly milled black pepper over the top and wrapped it in foil.
As there is no seating area in front of the tiny cheese shop, I took my piping hot dish of Raclette to nearby Queen Square, where I found a bench under a tree to shelter from the rain.
I opened my foil package to be greeted with a deliciously nutty and cheesy aroma. Most of the cheese had started to cling to the potatoes and other bits were still melting and stringy. It was just like the best bits of cheese on toast, but without the toast. The freshly ground pepper added a fiery tingle and the gherkins and onions provided a vinegary crunch.
It was without doubt the most enjoyable lunchtime dish I’ve eaten all year. And the price for this culinary delight? £4. Just goes to show that sometimes the best things come in small packages.

Mark Taylor

This is a Crackerjack review of Trethowan’s Dairy Shop. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.