Wicked good Halloween party pairings

Monstrous flavor awaits!

Two of our top product specialists have teamed up to bring you some wicked good ideas for an elevated Halloween gathering. Leave the grocery store candy for the kids–our recommendations pair top quality chocolates from around the world with the perfect bite of cheese from our counter.

Urs Leuenberger Juscht & Cuna de Piedra Comalcalco 73%

This award-winning cheese is handmade by Urs Leuenberger in the mountain dairy Vorderfultigen in the Gantrisch region of Switzerland. “Simply good cheese” is what Juscht translates into from the regional Swiss-German dialect in and around the canton of Fribourg. Clean, fresh flavors of rich, raw cow’s milk lightly aged to perfection in the Gourmino Caves. It evokes flavors of muesli milk and savory waffles and because of that sweetness, it pairs well with chocolate! We’ve chosen the 73% from Cuna de Piedra, who makes single estate, Mexican heirloom cacao beans produced by grower Malaquias on his farm in Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico. These cacao trees coexist with wild black pepper & various citrus and are harvested, fermented, dried, cleaned, and packed at origin by the farmers and their families. This dark chocolate bar has notes of sweet berries & hazelnuts.

Urban Stead Cheese Street Ched & Manoa Guava Vegan Milk Chocolate

Vermont doesn’t have the monopoly on good American white cheddar. Big wheels of clothbound aged cheddar with even bigger flavor are also made in Cincinnati by Urgan Stead Cheese. This one pairs well with the Guava Milk Chocolate bar from Manoa. This one is vegan and uses Hawaiian grown guava and coconut milk to create a smooth and creamy, sweet and delicious bar.

Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill & Askinosie Dark Chocolate Fruit Punch

The Green Hill is a double cream cheese with a mellow but still full, creamy flavor. Nicely buttery, perky, earthy. It’s made by Sweet Grass Dairy by the Little family in Thomasville, Georgia. has been supplying us with these polite and palatable rounds for almost a decade now. We’ve paired it with chocolate from another one of our favorite long-time producers, Askinosie. This is a newer chocolate bar featuring 52% dark chocolate made with Mababu, Tanzania, dark chocolate. This complex bar is unlike anything else they’ve made–or tried before and includes ripe strawberries, tangy pineapple and a dash of black pepper. It’s like the Mai Tai of chocolate bars– fruity and sweet but delicately balanced and packs a punch.

Piave Stravecchio & Amedei Toscano Red Fruit, 72%

Flavor wise, Piave evokes thoughts of a good Parmigiano Reggiano with a little kick of sweet mountain Gruyére. It brings the smoothness of cheddar, the texture of Parmigiano-Reggiano and the mellowness of sweet mountain butter to your table. We’ve paired it with a bar from Amedei Chocolate, an Italian chocolateir that uses their own grown cocoa beans and natural ingredients. This bar has the touch of an artist–red fruits on a dark chocolate canvas. It’s made with dehydrated strawberries, cherries and raspberries and can be enjoyed chilled or warm with your cheese.

> SHOP CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE AT THE DELI!