Anne Saxelby's Last Meal: 'Total Cheese Debauchery'

Anne Saxelby, the dairy enthusiast who started Saxelby Cheesemongers last summer at Essex Market, was bound to request some stinky items for her last meal. But was there room in her heart for any other edibles? It turns out that her travels and friendships have yielded love for other delicacies, and she'll even throw in some fruit for the lactards.

You basically do all the work here.Yeah! Where do you even start? It would definitely be outside—some marshy, beautiful waterfront area, under a tent or some covered thing with flowers growing on it, maybe. In the water nearby would be parked a tugboat. I don't know what that's for, but I want it. I have a thing about tugboats. Maybe the party could move to the boat for ice-cream sundaes or something—like do up your own cheese plate on the tugboat!

You should be a party planner.Right? I'd want it to be a big, raucous party, and all my friends would come, of course. All the courses would be contributed by different people. One thing I know is, I would make my friend Julien Alex bring the best roast chicken, from Casa Mingo in Madrid.

Does he live there?Yeah—three of us did in college. This restaurant was like a castle, and for $10, you could feast on roast chicken, chorizo, Manchego—it was the best. I would definitely start with something green. I would ask Collin Allegres to do an amazing salad-y green thing, and some kind of mushroom parade—he always finds these amazing mushrooms, and when you eat them, it's like, "That was a mushroom? I had no idea it could be like that!" It would be simple, awesome, hearty fare.

Sounds great.The wines would be provided by these two guys—I lived with one of them in Italy, and the other I know by association, Paolo Bea. We would have to have Stanco Radikon. He's a crazy fool and makes really kick-ass wine. He'd be a good guest at the party, a good dancer, I'd imagine. Of course, all the cheesemakers would be there. There are too many to mention, but Michael Lee from Twig Farm, Mark and Liz from Cato Farm, some good stinky stuff from Matea and Andy. They'd bring some swarthy wheels of blue—Rick and Helen from Grayson. I would have it end with total cheese debauchery, and the ice-cream sundaes, even though it's wrong to have that much dairy at once. I guess we could have some fruit, for those who can't handle it.

Sure, why not? Anything else?Oh, my friend Smoky makes the best mayonnaise ever. There would have to be something highlighting that. Maybe a kick-ass egg salad or something. And Brussels sprouts, because they're my favorite vegetable—it would be sad not to give them a little shout-out. I would throw those with the chicken and make a good medieval feast.