Just like those bad days in life that can be made better by a good cup of tea, there are those that simply need cheese. For this, some genius invented the cheese platter – is there much else that brings so much joy? The cheeseboard is not just for Christmas, so we’d like to introduce you to our favourite cheeseboard in the city: Delilah‘s seasonal cheese selection.

If you haven’t visited Delilah on Victoria St, it’s an Aladdin’s cave of artisanal foodie wonders and delicious treats (not to mention the cheese and meat deli samples). Worth visiting if only for the sheer exasperation at how some might stock their pantry (rainbow farfalle pasta, anyone?), you’re sure to find some completely fabulous, unnecessary foodie items that you didn’t know you needed until RIGHT THEN (I will use that porcini and truffle oil, one day).

Although a popular destination for brunch or cake and coffee, for us it’s the cheeseboard every time. As a sharing plate, the cheeseboard comes with a good amount of four seasonal Delilah cheeses, artisan crackers, bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, fruit and chutneys.

The various accompaniments and cheeses change every time, so it’s always a new and interesting experience – we’ve only ever had a couple of cheeses we weren’t keen on. We like to hope it is genuinely seasonal cheeses and not just what might be going out of date that day, but either way it’s tasty. The chutneys/piccalilli etc are always delicious with the cheese and the crackers are not your bog-standard Jacob’s – they’re fancy crackers, dahrling. Combined with the tastiest fresh bread and olive oil you’re likely to find outside France, it makes for a indulgent taste of the extra special.

Delilah once shared with us the rules of a good cheeseboard, which they generally adhere to with their offering:

• One cheddar cheese. Delilah do some amazingly mature and sharp varieties, sometimes you can’t beat a good cheddar with a bit of pickle
• One blue cheese. Not your average stilton here, we recommend the Stichelton blue
• One soft cheese. Whether it’s a good brie or an oozy goat’s sheese
• One ‘wild card.’ maybe it’s a herb cheese or a port wine wash, something a little different that adds interest

In addition to the cheesy goodness, we usually order a selection of Delilah’s artisanal olives and either the charcuterie selection or paté of the day – all of which change on a daily basis. We’ve rarely had any meats or cheeses that we didn’t like, so it’s a very low-risk Russian roulette (or Russian rilette, if you like paté-based puns).

So, to conclude, we’ve tried a lot of cheeseboards in Nottingham (and I mean an artery-clogging amount) and Delilah is the best out there. You get something a little different every time and the environment is light, warm and fun – take your mum, partner or bestie on a lazy afternoon and soak up the atmosphere. You will need to go early on a weekend, but shouldn’t have to wait long for a table if they’re full – you can explore the crazy shop while you wait or grab a table downstairs, where you don’t have to wait to be seated. Priced at £16.95 it’s a little steep but remember that’s between two and the quality and variety of cheeses is second-to-none.

Overall score: 9/10