Looking for an awesome wedding present involving preparation of cheese
February 19, 2014 5:42 AM Subscribe
My dear friend got married late last year and I'm a little behind on sending him and his new wife a wedding present. I'd like to find them something ~$50, related to cheese (like a cheese smoker or a really cool cutting board—they love cheese and will be opening a small cheese shop soon). I'm having a very hard time finding such a thing. They also like vintage, retro, rockabilly, steampunk and the like. They are in California and I am in England; sending them something from the US would be preferable but if there's something uniquely British here and not too much cost to ship I could manage that too. Any ideas for specific items to purchase would be most welcome, thanks!
A cheese knife from Murano.
We have one, and it is gorgeous and lovely. I'm not sure how much it would cost you, but you might be able to order something in the US and have it sent from there.
posted by zizzle at 5:45 AM on February 19, 2014
We have one, and it is gorgeous and lovely. I'm not sure how much it would cost you, but you might be able to order something in the US and have it sent from there.
posted by zizzle at 5:45 AM on February 19, 2014
A custom cutting board from AHeirloom on Etsy.
posted by neushoorn at 5:58 AM on February 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by neushoorn at 5:58 AM on February 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: A girolle, if they don't already have one.
posted by CheeseLouise at 5:59 AM on February 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by CheeseLouise at 5:59 AM on February 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Have you considered a raclette grill? There are many different types available on Amazon with free shipping. If customs weren't an issue, I'd send a wheel of St Gall to them from Neal's Dairy.
posted by travellingincognito at 6:06 AM on February 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by travellingincognito at 6:06 AM on February 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
seconding the Girolle- very classy, unique and they probably don't have one.
Alternately, if you're a creative type, you could go for a cheese serving plate that can be labeled with cheese names- black slate for example, can be written on with chalk. The budget option here is that just about any flat paintable surface can be coated in 'chalkboard paint' and turned into a 'vintage' or unique cheese serving platter. Chalkboard paint comes in lots of colors (retro 'ask.meta' green, for example) & would make a fun wedding package with the chalk.
posted by iiniisfree at 6:25 AM on February 19, 2014
Alternately, if you're a creative type, you could go for a cheese serving plate that can be labeled with cheese names- black slate for example, can be written on with chalk. The budget option here is that just about any flat paintable surface can be coated in 'chalkboard paint' and turned into a 'vintage' or unique cheese serving platter. Chalkboard paint comes in lots of colors (retro 'ask.meta' green, for example) & would make a fun wedding package with the chalk.
posted by iiniisfree at 6:25 AM on February 19, 2014
Searching for "cheese" in the Ebay art section pulls up some neat stuff, including some old advertising posters.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:57 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:57 AM on February 19, 2014
I am STUPIDLY fond of these cheese markers and I bet you could have them customized for your friends.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:04 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:04 AM on February 19, 2014
Best answer: I would get them a personalized cheese board off Etsy but you'll have to hunt for a classy one. I've seen nicer ones in the UK but they will blow your budget.
Although I do like:
- Juniper handled cow-headed cheese slice
- Hello, Is It Brie You're Looking For? [Link to large plate. They should have cheese plates in stock in the future.]
posted by MuffinMan at 7:17 AM on February 19, 2014
Although I do like:
- Juniper handled cow-headed cheese slice
- Hello, Is It Brie You're Looking For? [Link to large plate. They should have cheese plates in stock in the future.]
posted by MuffinMan at 7:17 AM on February 19, 2014
Call/check out Fromagination here in beautiful Madison, WI. If you email them, I bet they can help. They ship all sorts of domestic and imported (maybe St. Gall?).
posted by Madamina at 7:19 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by Madamina at 7:19 AM on February 19, 2014
You have a couple difficulties here. First off, they are really into cheese. Which means their taste is probably pretty specific at this point. Secondly, they are opening a cheese shop! Wow! So, they'll be buying lots of things to outfit their shop and these are likely going to be pretty specific to the character of the shop.
Some ideas:
There are 1/2-round raclette melters which would be great to have in the shop. The cheese shop locally rents it out by the weekend during certain times of the year. But, they are pricey. Say, over $200 most likely, and $400+ for anything commercially good. I did just come across this "Partyclette" which I have no experience with but I can see that being a fun gadget and also working in a cheese shop where you could order up your own raclette, melted at your table.
The girolle is great if they don't already have one. It's a fantastic thing to have out on your cheese counter for sampling with customers. I'd consider adding a dome, if you can. For home use, unless I had a huge kitchen with lots of room for "special use" items, I'm not sure a girolle is practical.
I have quite a sample of cutting boards. But I always do my "presentation" cheese board on my Epicurean Cutting Board (made in the USA!). They are thin and sturdy and look really nice under cheese. Black is a great color for photographing cheese which they are likely to do for marketing. But, maybe they are more "natural wood" people? I have a natural wood, elongated cutting board which seems to be discontinued. It's great for showing 3-5 cheeses in a row. For your friends, I like the Handy 14x7 in Slate or Natural Wood. It's a nice board, easy to store in the house and could be used in the shop. There's another cheese shop in town here that uses these boards to plate cheese for your table which is where I got turned on to them.
Mmmm...cheese.
posted by amanda at 8:09 AM on February 19, 2014
Some ideas:
There are 1/2-round raclette melters which would be great to have in the shop. The cheese shop locally rents it out by the weekend during certain times of the year. But, they are pricey. Say, over $200 most likely, and $400+ for anything commercially good. I did just come across this "Partyclette" which I have no experience with but I can see that being a fun gadget and also working in a cheese shop where you could order up your own raclette, melted at your table.
The girolle is great if they don't already have one. It's a fantastic thing to have out on your cheese counter for sampling with customers. I'd consider adding a dome, if you can. For home use, unless I had a huge kitchen with lots of room for "special use" items, I'm not sure a girolle is practical.
I have quite a sample of cutting boards. But I always do my "presentation" cheese board on my Epicurean Cutting Board (made in the USA!). They are thin and sturdy and look really nice under cheese. Black is a great color for photographing cheese which they are likely to do for marketing. But, maybe they are more "natural wood" people? I have a natural wood, elongated cutting board which seems to be discontinued. It's great for showing 3-5 cheeses in a row. For your friends, I like the Handy 14x7 in Slate or Natural Wood. It's a nice board, easy to store in the house and could be used in the shop. There's another cheese shop in town here that uses these boards to plate cheese for your table which is where I got turned on to them.
Mmmm...cheese.
posted by amanda at 8:09 AM on February 19, 2014
Just noticed that Epicurean has a commercial shop which has a 19x7.5 board which would be even better!
posted by amanda at 8:16 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by amanda at 8:16 AM on February 19, 2014
Honestly, I recommend against the cheese theme. If they are opening a cheese shop, they likely have very strong opinions about what they want in that category. I’d buy off a registry and send them a check with a note suggesting they use it toward signage for the store or something.
posted by metasarah at 8:18 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by metasarah at 8:18 AM on February 19, 2014
If you want to stick to the cheese theme, they could probably use a range of slate cheese boards for their shop or for home. Another option for slate.
posted by gudrun at 10:30 AM on February 19, 2014
posted by gudrun at 10:30 AM on February 19, 2014
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! The suggestions really helped and steered me toward the perfect gifts…I ended up going with a camembert baker, silver and crystal mice 'n cheese picks, and Carcassonne (they love games and I took a gamble that they wouldn't have/know this one). I have no doubt they will love all the things. The girolle was very tempting, but I wasn't clear on whether new cheese could easily be put on it for further cheese curling amazingness. The cutting boards — especially the slate ones — were completely impractical from a size, weight and shipping standpoint (and my Amazon Prime is UK only). Thanks again!
posted by iamkimiam at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by iamkimiam at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2014
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posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:44 AM on February 19, 2014 [1 favorite]