I am a huge fan of cheese and crackers so to be given the opportunity to review a Luxury Cheese Lover Hamper from The Hamper Lounge was like a dream come true!
The luxury cheese hamper retails at £50.00 but if you want to purchase one as a gourmet gift for someone you can actually get 10% off by using discount code MMR10. This would make such an amazing Christmas gift…take my word for it. When this arrives in the post it is such a delight to open and eat!
The hamper was delivered really quickly and it was in a large cardboard box with fragile tape around it. Upon opening the cardboard box I was met with a luxurious large silver gift box tied up with a ribbon and bow. It looked amazing! I was so eager to open the box but I was good and snapped a pic for this blog post first.
Once I had untied the bow I then lifted the lid off of the box and was delighted to see all the gourmet goodies inside. If you are a cheese lover like me I know you will understand how happy it makes you to open a parcel of cheese, crackers and chutney! Yum!
The cheeses were all safely tucked away in an insulated padded envelope and each ‘The Fine Cheese Co.‘ cheese was carefully wrapped in pretty waxed paper with a handwritten label that said the cheese name on it. The cheeses I received were Stinking Bishop , Old Winchester, Colston Bassett Stilton and Carboncino. I don’t think I had ever tried any of them before so I couldn’t wait to try them.
As well as the selection of cheeses, the hamper also contained 3 boxes of crackers and 4 different chutneys. What a treat!
The crackers and chutneys I received were as follows:-
Miller’s Ale Crackers by Artisan Biscuits
Fig, Honey & Olive Oil Crackers by The Fine Cheese Co
Basil & Olive Oil Crackers by The Fine Cheese Co
Fig Chutney by The Fine Cheese Co
Plum Chutney by The Fine Cheese Co
Yorkshire Chutney by Cartwright & Butler
Ale Chutney by Cartwright & Butler
I feel very spoiled that The Hamper Lounge gifted this decadent cheese hamper to me for review and if you choose to send one of these hampers as a Christmas or Birthday gift the recipient will also feel like that. It is testament to the quality of the products included and the attention to detail with the presentation of it all. It is really obvious that Sherree (owner of The Hamper Lounge) has done her utmost to make this hamper special for whoever receives it.
I received this hamper,via Parcel Force, just in time for lunch one day so I set about opening everything up so we could have cheese and crackers to eat plus I wanted to set it all up for some festive hamper pics.
For lunch my daughter and I tried a bit of all the cheeses plus we tried all of the crackers and we also tried 2 of the chutneys (Yorkshire Chutney and Plum Chutney). I left the other two chutneys as new so that I could let my Mum have the pleasure of undoing them when I took what was left of the hamper over to my parents house for them to have for their tea that night.
I would have loved to be greedy and keep the whole hamper to myself but quite honestly it was such a treat to get all these lovely cheeses, crackers and chutneys that I wouldn’t have dreamed of not sharing them with with my parents when I know they love delicious food like this as much as I do.
All the cheeses were amazing but my absolute favourite was Carboncino (and my Mum and daughter also thought the same) as it was so soft and gooey. The outside of the cheese is a black colour so I wasn’t sure if I could eat the rind or not. However after googling it and getting confirmation that I could, I set about cutting into the cheese round and oh my word…it was such a treat! It was so gooey that it just wanted to run everywhere and I couldn’t get it on my crackers fast enough! Yummy! I could honestly have eaten the whole cheese although I did somehow manage to not only share with my daughter but also take half of it over to my parents for them to try.
Look at the photo below and you will see exactly why I struggled to share this one!
According to the Cheese Library website ‘Carboncino is classified as a “tre latti” cheese and it is a soft, rich and creamy Italian cheese made of blended sheep, cow and goat’s milk and uses a vegetable charcoal covering’.
The Colston Bassett Stilton was a delight to eat – as Stilton always is! The Fine Cheese Co. website describes it as ‘An intensely rich and creamy Stilton cheese, with a deep, lingering, complex flavour.’
The Old Winchester was a very different cheese to what I normally eat but I really liked it and I would definitely choose to have it on my crackers again! The Fine Cheese Co. website describes it as ‘A powerful, fruity cheese, with a full sweet flavour. Matured for at least 16 months to develop its fabulous crystalline texture.’ .
I was very intrigued to try the Stinking Bishop cheese as I had heard about it before but never tried it. I was very impressed! The Fine Cheese Co. website describe it as ‘An aromatic cheese, with a rich and powerful flavour.’ and they also explain that the rind is washed with fermented pear juice made from Stinking Bishop pears and that it is this process that gives the cheese its powerful aroma and flavour. I am glad I can now tick it off my cheese bucket list!
The crackers all looked so gourmet and ‘foodie’ in their packaging and I was so excited about trying them all, especially the Fig, Honey & Olive Oil Crackers from The Fine Cheese Co. They didn’t disappoint! They were slightly sweet and perfect with the Colston Bassett Stilton on top and a spoonful of Plum chutney (also by The Fine Cheese Co.) Just talking about it now is making me hungry!
One of the things I loved about the Miller’s Ale Crackers from Artisan Biscuits is that they were textured and wholesome. I also thought it was really interesting how they were made from ‘de-constructed beer ingredients’ with a generous splash of English Ale.
My daughter’s favourite crackers were the Basil & Olive Oil Crackers by The Fine Cheese Co. which had a delicate basil flavour and the Ale Crackers too.
The crackers were all noticeably artisan in their presentation and it was great that none of them broke in half when buttering them which is always a bonus!
Last but not least I will get onto the chutneys. This Cheese Lover Hamper contained a total of 4 different jars and they all sounded amazing. I tried the Yorkshire Chutney by Cartwright and Butler and the Plum Chutney by The Fine Cheese Co. My daughter loved the Yorkshire chutney as did I. It had a lovely taste and was nice and chunky. It came in a reusable mason jar which made it look very fancy! The Plum Chutney was my personal favourite as I liked the sweetness of it. My parents both tried the other two chutneys which were Fig Chutney by The Fine Cheese Co and Ale Chutney by Cartwright & Butler. They were hard pressed to pick a favourite though as they loved them both.
I would like to commend Sherree at The Hamper Lounge on creating such a wonderful gourmet Hamper – the flavour combinations of all the cheeses, crackers and chutneys was perfect! The whole My Mummy Reviews family really enjoyed eating it!
To order your Cheese Lover Hamper as a Christmas gift go to hamperlounge.com/collections/gourmet-hampers/products/cheese-lover and use discount code MMR10 to get 10% off the price. Next day delivery is £6.99 which I think is a great price when you consider that your gift will be delivered super quick plus by The Hamper Lounge offering the option of Next Day Delivery it means their wide range of hampers and gifts are ideal to order as those last-minute Christmas gifts that you meant to order weeks ago!
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