This past weekend while in Amsterdam I got to do something a little different that what I do during my usual stays here in the city, I had the opportunity to go cheese tasting with a few friends from the Red Bull BC One team, one of my favorite people to work with, Erin and Crazy Legs. I don’t consider myself a cheese connoisseur but I do love a good Gouda and what better place to sample the finest than in Holland where it’s produced in the Gouda region. Similar to eating Kobe beef actually in Kobe, Japan or Wagu beef in the Wagu region of Japan, it’s the best place to experience it.
After being greeted, we were sat down to a table with the option of wine or beer and several types of cheese varying in tastes from smokey to a pesto flavor but before doing so, we watched a short video on the Henri Willig company and how it has been producing cheese since 1974. It’s always great to take a look inside of an operation to get the full understanding of how things a brought together to create a product that has been around for so long. After our tour at Henri Willig it was off to Amsterdam Cheese Company where Crazy Legs and myself visited a few years back and really enjoyed the 3 year aged Gouda. After sampling some of the shops finest it was time to make a few purchases to bring back to the states. Looks like I’ll get my fill of cheese on everything from weekday pasta dinners to weekends on the couch charcuterie plates while watching movies.