I confess, I’ve got a new addiction, Kaikoura Cheese Factory’s Tenara ash coated goat cheese.

Its wrinkled black outer, and fudgie white inner has pulled me from my cheesey silence, because my friends, you need to know about this cheese.

I play out our encounters, imagining sharp contrasts of bone white against black slate, cut through with a slash of colour.

This time I paired it with black peaches and New Zealand grapes. Their rich red and purples gem-like against its bleached ivory and ash grey.  They bring something sweet to counter its lemony bite, something succulent to meet its mouth-puckering dry. A feast for the mind even before I put knife to flesh.

I love this style of goats cheese and have been delighted that it’s being made with such success by the Kaikoura Cheese Factory. Elegant and complex enough for a cheese fiend, yet not too scary for a newbie, this is a great cheese.

Don’t be put off by its rather French appearance, inside you will find a close textured cheese, slightly crumbly but smooth on the tongue, dense with a little bite.

Look closely when you slice it, if you are lucky and it’s in peak condition, the chalky centre is edged by a glossy boarder as it ripens from the outside in.

I urge you to keep an eye out for this cheese, although I warn you it is addictive, and once tasted, I can’t guarantee you won’t become intoxicated by its wrinkly charms.