More Baker Cheese Co., Please!
Restaurant: Baker Cheese Company
Location: 1195 Pineview Drive, Morgantown, WV
Dish: Graze Box & Pimento Cheese Dip
The holiday season may be over but there are still milestones to be celebrated, places to gather, and ‘girl dinners’ to be had. And so to kick off the new year in style, I ordered a graze box from Baker Cheese Company.
I was presented with an absolutely beautiful box tied up with a bow that would make a pretty gift to bring into someone’s home. Inside the box, I found an aesthetically pleasing arrangement that made me excited to dive into something delicious. Fruit and berries, crackers, chocolate-covered almonds, pistachios, and green olives dotted the scape to build a colorful presentation of three cheeses and two charcuterie meats. Additional accompaniments included a small jar of acacia blossom honey and a cranberry jalapeno compote.
The graze box, which serves two to three people for $70, always includes Brie, Manchego, and Bellavitano. The three cheeses were the shining stars of the box. Brie is a soft cheese from cow’s milk that includes a bloomy, earthy rind which I am not a real fan of - you can call me a monster for it - but I do like to eat the paste, or super-soft inside, with a sweet accompaniment on a cracker. Manchego, a harder cheese made from sheep’s milk, is sharp but has a sweet hint of tangy, fruity nature, and I knew immediately it would pair well with the cranberry jalapeno compote. I also liked it with one of the salamis on a cracker. My favorite in the box, though, was the Bellavitano. Does that make me basic? Maybe. This cheese was mild, but so rich that it was almost creamy once I was chewing. It tastes like a combination of cheddar and parmesan that went with literally everything that came in the box. More cheese, please!
It is recommended not to eat the cheese and charcuterie box straight from the refrigerator, as cold cheese is not as tasty. Leave out for at least thirty minutes as room-temperature cheese brings out the natural flavors of each piece. Eat it how you will, all boxes are the same but can be subject to change based on availability or if you request something specific. Usually, customers just let the Baker Cheese Co. team do their thing!
Along with my box, I was gifted a pimento cheese dip. I had purchased two a few weeks ago with a loaf of sourdough from local Country Roads Sourdough and loved it. Baker’s pimento cheese dip is eons better than grocery store-bought dip, and dare I say also better than the homemade pimento spread we make for sandwiches during the Masters. I will stop again when they have the sourdough back in stock for this delicious combination as a quick comfort food.
When the owner, Carly, describes her company as “gourmet grazing,” she means it. Along with the boxes, I think her real bread and butter comes with the big boards and grazing tables the team puts together for celebrations and events for large gatherings. Yes, entire tables piled high with cheeses, meats, and accompaniments. Does anyone want to invite me to their cocktail hour?
The Morgantown Dish rates this small business a 10 out of 10. It’s a perfect addition to any celebration or just a quick little something to enhance a date night at home. Baker Cheese Company can make any special moment even more delicious!
*This article was originally written by The Morgantown Dish for the Dominion Post and has been repurposed digitally for the blog.