Caprice - A Journey into the Land of Cheese!

Just in case you don't know, Caprice at the Four Seasons Hong Kong was just awarded the Michelin 3-Star status. A big congratulations to the whole team! Only a few days after the announcement, I was back at Caprice for a cheese class taught by Jean-Francois Antony, son of the famous affineur Bernard Antony whose cheese can be found in many Michelin starred restaurants around the world, including Caprice of course. All I can say at this moment is that I had an amazing journey into the land of cheese. Not only were we able to try several types of cheese, they were accompanied by carefully selected wines to match them. As I mentioned before on my previous visit to Caprice, I am a newbie with cheese but I know for a fact that I have fallen deeply in love with cheese!



The class was held inside the cheese / wine cellar and as soon as I stepped into the room, I was surrounded by the wonderful scent of cheese. Sorry, I meant to say I was HUGGED by the scent of cheese all around me! I was indeed hard to concentrate on the history and details being taught when you are in a room full of cheese! In the middle of the room was a huge cheeseboard which I assume was cut directly from a very old oak tree. Each student was provided not just with lecture materials but ... o my, they have prepared sets of detailed description and history of each cheese we were tasting along with the pairing wines ... as well as Kodak pictures of the respective cheeses for our further reference! It is always the finer touch of things that made a world of differences in my opinion! Plus, we were all given a new Caprice apron! Woohoo! Time to put the apron to good use and start cooking more perhaps?



I am going to try my best to describe my experience because it is not easy to do so especially when all you can think about was more cheeseeeeee please!!!



(1) Selles-Sur-Cher (paired with Joseph Mellot Sancerre La Chatellenie 2008)
Strong scent with a creamy texture which melt in the mouth; and the cheese made the wine less sweet, balanced out the flavor very well.




(2) Mimolette (paired with Egly-Ouriet Champagne)
The so-called king of cheese by many but I personally find it rather hard to my liking. Flavor was about the same strength as Selles-Sur-Cher. It was hard but slightly brittle as well with a rather mellow aftertaste to it.




(3) Comte de Grande Garde Exceptionnelle and Mont d'Or (paired with Chateau Chalon - Vin Jaune 1999)
The Comte was the long triangular one which was quite solid yet brittle, carried a slightly salty taste. The Mont d'Or on the other hand was soft and creamy like ice cream. Wonderful flavors! I even had several scoops of it afterward. I can imagine myself sitting in front of the TV at home holding a box of Mont d'Or and scooping it away into my mouth! :)



(4) Munster (paired with Albert Mann Alsace Grand Cru 2005)
WOW, the scent, no i mean SMELL, was very strong!!! This can be one of those many called stinky cheese! However, to my surprised it gets better after several bites. It was actually quite addictive with this cheese that I had to get more to go along with some bread! Don;t be fool but the smell, once you tried, you can't stop, at least I can't!



(5) Roquefort Vieux Berger (paired with Mas Amiel Maury 2006)
There were tons of crystallization which made it rather salty but at the same time enhanced the addictive flavors of the cheese. In this case the sweetness of the wine balanced out the strong salty flavors of the crystallization so it would make you keep drinking more wine.

Likes:

• Wonderful Service especially with the lecture materials
• a good variety of cheese types for tasting purposes

Dislikes:

• More cheese would be better perhaps? I know, I am being too greedy.

Avg Spending: Above HKD 500 per person

Caprice
Four Seasons Hotel,
8 Finance Street, Central
Tel: 3196-8888
http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining.html


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