The first thing I heard when I walked into Stewart was elegant classical music drifting down the stairs. I was there for the meeting of the Honorable Biola Cheese Society. I’d never been to a meeting before and after rave reviews from my roommates I decided to give it a try.
After climbing the stairs, I was greeted by a transformed Stewart lobby. Couches and chairs had been rearranged in a circle around two dark wooden tables. The source of the music was a laptop and two speakers sitting on a windowsill overlooking the sunny courtyard. Expectant members of the cheese society, as well as excited attendees like myself, took our seats and waited with anticipation to sample this week’s selection of cheeses. Clustered around the dark countertop of the kitchen, the officers of the Society sliced and artfully arranged the various cheeses and crusty loaves on wooden cutting boards.
I have an appreciation for food and its preparation (Food Network is admittedly one of my favorite channels) so I loved the obvious care that was put into presenting these cheeses to Biola students. After inviting displays of food were placed on the tables in the middle of all the hungry students, the fun began. I was told that usually there is a reading of some sort before the cheese connoisseurs take action. This meeting, due to time, we skipped the reading and went straight to the cheese.
This week, the theme was “Mostly French,” which consisted of four French cheeses and two non-French. The Cheese Society truly has an appreciation for the wide world of cheese and desires to share that appreciation with other Biola students. Their esteem for cheese was evident in their descriptions of each, and after mouthwatering introductions for each cheese, we were set free to sample the dairy goodness. These cheeses ranged in flavors from dry, pungent, and sharp to rich and creamy. Some were almost buttery in texture. My favorite was an herbed Brie, Fromager D’Affinois Herb, which was very flavorful and spread smoothly.
Next to each cheese was a sheet of paper upon which the attendees were invited to rate each cheese and leave feedback. Among the milling, spreading, and sampling, I felt as if I had been elevated to a higher society, or at least a slightly more cultured one than where I had been half an hour ago.
The club began with a group of Stewart residents who gathered together to enjoy cheese. It became an official club four years ago. Each week, the cheese club entertains 30-40 members with the aim of exposing Biola students to the wide world of cheese. Judging by the students milling about the tables and commenting on the “creamy texture” of this cheese, or the “tangy flavor” of that cheese, I’d say the Society accomplishes its goal in a very … tasteful way.
