Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

National Cheese Day is on 4 June 2024

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Key Stage 3

Aims

To celebrate the wide variety of cheeses that we can enjoy.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a camera or smartphone so that you can pretend to take a photograph.
• You will also need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Cheese, Glorious Cheese!) and the means to display them.
• Further information about National Cheese Day is available at: https://tinyurl.com/ewbb6t28

Assembly

1. Show the camera or smartphone to the students.
   
   Tell them that if you wanted to take a photograph of everyone this morning, you might ask everyone to say ‘cheese’.
   
   
2. Show Slide 1 and pretend to take the photo.
   
   Point out that a photographer won’t ask us to say words like ‘potatoes’ or ‘cauliflower’ before they take our photo; instead, saying the word ‘cheese’ helps to widen our mouth and put a smile on our lips!
   
   
3. Show Slide 2.
   
   Apparently, ‘cheese’ is the perfect word for getting people to smile.
   
   
4. The first photograph was taken nearly 200 years ago in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. It is known as View from the Window at Le Gras.
   
   Show Slide 3.
   
   On the left, we can see the original plate, where we can just make out some of the angles in the photo. On the right, we can see a colourized, enhanced version of it.
   
   Early photography was a serious business, and it took a long time to get equipment set up. Sometimes, subjects had to sit still for hours!
   
   Of course, back then, photos were in black and white. If you look at any today, you may notice that everyone looks very stiff and formal, and often quite miserable. This was because they needed to gaze blankly and sit absolutely still for some time while the photo was being taken, otherwise it would be blurry.
   
   
5. Explain that nowadays, there is a day called National Cheese Day that takes place on 4 June every year. The day celebrates all the different varieties of cheese that we eat and enjoy.
   
   Show Slide 4.
   
   Ask the students to put up their hand if they like cheese.
   
   
6. Explain that you are going to show some pictures of different types of cheese and you want the students to try to identify each type.
   
   Optional: you may wish to take answers.
   
   Show Slides 5 to 11.
   
   - Slide 5 shows a wedge of Cheddar.
   - Slide 6 shows some Camembert.
   - Slide 7 shows some Parmesan.
   - Slide 8 shows a type of blue cheese called Danish Blue.
   - Slide 9 shows a wedge of Brie.
   - Slide 10 shows some Gouda.
   - Slide 11 shows a selection of plant-based cheeses.
   

Time for reflection

Tell the students that there are more than 700 varieties of British cheese produced in the UK. Point out that today, there are various cheeses made in a different way. Many people on dairy-free diets enjoy dairy-free cheese, which is plant-based and made without milk.

Encourage the students to think about all the ways they might eat cheese: on its own, cubed in a lunch box, in a roll, sprinkled on a pizza, in a sauce over cauliflower and so on.

Remind them that we are fortunate to have so many varieties of different foods.

Encourage the students to be thankful and to pause to think of people who do not have much to eat today.

Prayer (author unknown)
God is great,
God is good;
Let us thank him for our food.
By his hands, we are fed.
Let us thank him for our bread.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Food, glorious food’ from the musical Oliver!, available at: https://youtu.be/hEQDllvuy1I (2.35 minutes long)