Stinking Bishop

Toward the end of the 2005 Wallace & Gromit feature film, Wallace is revived after an accident by the smell of a cheese named Stinking Bishop. To my considerable surprise, this cheese actually exists. And to my delight, it can be mail-ordered worldwide over the internet, along with a very healthy selection of similarly hard-core cheeses, from Teddington Cheese, Middlesex, England!

"Stinking Bishop [...] has a sticky yellow-orange rind and smells of old socks. The paste is soft and creamy, the flavour is delicious and, although full and distinctive, it is not quite as pungent as the odour may imply! At certain times of year the paste becomes firmer and slightly crumbly. The cheese is similar to the famous French Epoisses which has been banned from the public transport system in Paris."

Having 750 grams of Stinking Bishop delivered to my door in the Stockholm suburbs would cost me £42, $83, €63, SEK 560. This translates to SEK 750 per kilogram. A pretty stiff price, but I know people who could and would pay it.

Here's a piece from the Guardian about the maker of the cheese, who was nervous about whether he would be able to meet the increased demand for his product in the wake of the film.

[More blog entries about food, cheese, film,England; mat, ost, film,England.]