I like cheese. I like cheese a whole damn bunch. So one of my favourite places to go when I feel like some fancy cheese is Androuet in Old Spitalfields Market. It’s an awesome little place that stocks hundreds of fresh cheeses, mostly from France but they have German, Swiss and British cheeses too. There are three huge chillers in the shop: one full of hard, mature cheese, one with blue or soft cows milk cheeses, and one dedicated to goats cheese and all types of squishy Brie-types. They even have Époisses, the cheese considered so stinky that it is rumoured to be banned from public transport in France! As well as cheese they also sell Charcuterie, chutneys, crackers and lots of cheese accoutrement. It’s amazing! You genuinely want to try everything they have. And the super lovely cheese-mongers are only too happy to help.

Pro tip: Androuet used to be based at the back end of the market opposite St. John Bread and Wine but has recently moved to a larger pad between Wright Brothers and Jigsaw. I got a bit upset recently when I thought it had closed down. Turns out, they’d just moved up the road.

Adjoined to the cheese shop is a little restaurant and bar where you can sit and enjoy a glass of delicious wine and cheese in a plethora of forms: as a fondue, on a burger, in Tartiflette, or just straight up on a board. They also have an outside cheese bar, complete with blankets for chillier weather, specifically so you can chow down on a super stinky Raclette without offending anyone.

Last weekend I was in a cheese kinda mood so we swung past Androuet and picked up four cheeses to try. Here’s what I thought:

Morbier

I feel like this is quite a grown-up, interesting cheese: soft and squishy like a bouncy Edam but with a vein of blackness running through the centre. It has all the creaminess of Gouda but with the smack of what tastes like an awesome blue cheese in the middle. Now, all of you cheese-fact-fans out there will know that the black line is not actually the same kind of mold found in blue cheeses, but a layer of ash. That’s right, ash! But these days its a sort of safe, vegetable dye type ash. Not the bad stuff. Either way it’s this that adds a real hit of flavour in the middle of the cheese, and also a bit of an acrid aftertaste. Did I just make that sound disgusting? I didn’t mean to, it’s really very nice. Now be quiet and eat your grown-up cheese.

Mont D’or

I will own up, I am a big brie fan. I can easily eat an entire wedge a week to myself. Mont D’Or has a soft, squishy texture like a semi-ripe brie but SO much more flavour. It tastes like it’s been aged on a dripping wet shelf in a mountain cave. That’s not actually true, I believe it’s ripened in boxes but has a washed rind so does feel a bit wet and stinky on the outside. Part of the charm, n’est-ce pas? Apparently my husband Christopher doesn’t agree. He suggested this was a bit underwhelming to start with before slowly filling his mouth with an unpleasant cheesy gas. Oh well, I guess this marriage was based on more than just brie.

Comté: aged 32 months

Good work guys, you’ve done it. Everyone can quit their cheese day jobs. THIS is just about the best cheese for strong cheese lovers everywhere. It’s like eating a good mature cheddar, only a cheddar that has been scientifically modified in outer space so that it tastes a zillion times better than boring old cheddar. It has a rich, strong flavour that develops as you chew and when you finish, your whole mouth is left tingling with cheese intensity. (There probably is a term for that I could look up). Every now and then you also come across little crunchy crystals of amino acids that all well-matured cheeses have, which provides extra texture and somehow adds to the yumminess. This is an all round amazing cheese. It also features in their fondue blends here at Androuet so you can eat it melted by the pot-full if you like. And I suggest that you do…

Bleu de Laqueuille

Blue blue blue…. good old bluey blue. We asked the lovely man in Androuet for a recommendation for our last cheese and he picked this one. I’m gonna skip straight to the point: it is freaking delicious! It is probably one of the strongest blue cheeses I’ve had with a really intense flavour. It has all the best bits of a creamy Dolcelatte but firmer and a bit saltier so it slaps you around the face and makes you feel like you’re really eating some fucking cheese. It’s addictive. We bought two lumps of the stuff. We WILL be buying more.

So if you ever find yourself hanging around East London and want to try something different I would STRONGly recommend Androuet. You’ll have a BRIE-ly great time and it won’t leave you feeling BLUE, you FETA believe it. In fact, you’ll CHEDDAR-ly be… Okay, I’m shutting up now. Just go. It’s really nice.

Still hungry? Find all the good places to eat with our best London restaurants section, including this review of Duke’s Brew and Que.