Camembert or brie mini 'fondue'

This dead easy yet highly impressive pre dinner nibble / snack is a creation of cheese impresario and non-pasteurised cheese product campaigner Will Studd (applause, cheers … without your Herculean efforts I wouldn’t be able to eat Roquefort in this country).

Pre heat the oven to 160-170°C.

Take a camembert or small brie cheese, a little under ripe is ok. Try to buy one that comes in a little wooden palette – the local King Island Cape Wickham double brie does, and works well with this recipe. If you have a Normandy camembert, lucky you, so much the better. In this instance I couldn’t find one packaged in wood, I used a Margaret River brie, so improvised a bowl the right size to cook and serve the cheese.

Unwrap the cheese and place it back in the wooden palette and keep the wooden top. (If you use King Island brand the wooden packaging has a tendency to break in the oven so keeping the top means you have something to present and serve it in).

Using a small sharp knife, make slits in the top of the cheese being careful not to pierce the base. Slice 2 cloves of garlic very finely and insert them into the slits. Do the same with some small thyme sprigs. Gently pour 2 - 3 tablespoons of red wine over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is warm and squidgy in the middle. Serve with crusty French bread.

Maximum yum factor, great cheese hit, minimum effort.