Islington Cheese Shop Crawl Planner for a Christmas Order

This year Daniel is hosting Christmas for the first time: his partner's parents, his own mother, two teenagers and an uncle who has opinions about Stilton. Rather than leaving the cheese until Christmas Eve, he planned an Islington cheese shop crawl on a Saturday in mid-November, tasting along Upper Street and Camden Passage and placing an order before the December queues began.

Cheese counters in London get very busy in the weeks before Christmas. Queues stretch out of the door, the most popular wheels sell out, and there is little time for tasting or advice. Visiting in November means calmer counters, cheesemongers with time to talk, and the chance to reserve whole or half wheels for collection a few days before the holiday. For a first-time host, that calm conversation is worth more than any single cheese.

Daniel's family has one fixed rule: there must be Stilton. A blue Stilton at Christmas is an old British tradition, often served with port and crackers after the main meal. Beyond that, the board was open. He wanted something mild for the teenagers, something soft for his mother, and something unusual for the uncle, so that everyone had a cheese to defend at the table.

He wrote the guest list on a card with a note beside each name, a trick that made the crawl much easier. When a cheesemonger asked who he was buying for, he could answer in one sentence. That led to precise suggestions rather than generic ones, and stopped him from buying three strong cheeses because each tasted great on its own.

Upper Street runs the length of Islington from Angel to Highbury Corner and is lined with restaurants, delis and independent shops. Daniel started at the Angel end in late morning, browsing one counter for an overview and tasting a few British cheeses he had never heard of. He did not buy anything yet, which is the main habit of a good crawl: taste widely first, decide later. Taking a few photos of the cheeses you liked, with the shop name in your notes, makes the final choice much easier.

From there he crossed to Camden Passage, a narrow pedestrian lane just off the high street, known for antique stalls, small shops and cafes. On antique market days it is busy with antique traders, so the lane feels like a market. Small food shops along and near the passage make a good second stop, and the slower pace compared with Upper Street suits a long conversation at a counter.

Here Daniel asked the question that settled the board: what would you serve to a family with a teenager who only likes cheddar? The answer was a mild, buttery farmhouse cheddar alongside the Stilton, a soft bloomy rind round for his mother, and a washed rind cheese with a pungent rind for the uncle. He tasted each one, agreed, and placed the order.

Most cheese shops that take Christmas orders will note what you want, how much, and which day you will collect. Tell them how many people you are feeding and whether cheese is a separate course or part of a buffet over several days, because a Christmas cheese board often stretches from the main meal to Boxing Day leftovers. The cheesemonger will suggest sizes that fit.

Daniel asked for collection two days before Christmas, so the soft cheese would reach its best on the day. Hard cheeses and Stilton keep well for longer, so they could have been collected earlier. The shop gave him advice on storing everything: wrapped in paper, in the coolest part of the fridge or a cold room, and out of the fridge for an hour before serving.

One honest piece of advice: skip ordering a huge whole Stilton unless you have a crowd. It looks festive, but a small family rarely finishes one, and blue cheese left for weeks after Christmas dries out. A generous wedge or a small drum is plenty for most families, and leaves room for the other cheeses everyone actually wanted.

With the order placed, Daniel walked north through Canonbury, one of the prettiest corners of Islington, with Georgian terraces and quiet squares. Canonbury Square has a literary history, with writers including George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh living there at different times. On a cold bright afternoon the square is peaceful, and it feels a world away from the bustle of Upper Street.

From Canonbury he continued to Highbury Fields, a wide open space lined with tall plane trees and Georgian houses. It is a good place to walk off the tasting, and on clear November afternoons the low sun across the grass is lovely. If it rains, he suggests staying on Upper Street and ending in a warm cafe instead, with the shopping card on the table. Either way, the point of the walk is to let the tastes settle before you think about adding anything else to the order.

On Christmas Day, Daniel set out the cheeses on a wooden board an hour before the cheese course, in order from mild to strong: the buttery cheddar, the soft round, the washed rind, and the Stilton at the end. Crackers, oatcakes, red grapes, a jar of chutney and a few slices of pear went alongside. Each cheese got its own knife, and he told the table which one came from which conversation.

The uncle approved of the washed rind, the teenagers ate most of the cheddar, and the Stilton lasted until Boxing Day, which Daniel counted as success. Leftovers went into toasties and a cauliflower cheese the following week. For the first time, the cheese course was a highlight rather than an afterthought at his family table.

If Islington is not your neighbourhood, the same plan works elsewhere. Open the Karpo APP and ask for cheese shops near you, then do a tasting visit in November with your guest card in hand. Find out whether each shop takes Christmas orders and when collection works best, and leave the soft cheeses until the last collection day so they arrive at their peak.

Daniel has already decided to repeat the crawl next year, possibly with the teenagers, who discovered that tasting cheese at a counter is more fun than they expected. A short November walk, a card with names on it and one good conversation with a cheesemonger turned the most stressful part of hosting into the part he enjoyed most.