Cheese Boutique made a custom order for Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart—entrepreneur, TV personality, domestic-arts expert and ex-con—has been popping up around Toronto lately: a few months ago with chef José Andrés while shooting a new NBC show called Yes, Chef! and more recently to promote the launch of her new line of pizza-and-pasta essentials at Canadian grocery stores.

But Stewart can play just as hard as she works. During her visits, her stops have included Michelin-acclaimed restaurants like Café Boulud, LSL and Quetzal along with Nobu Toronto and upscale dim-sum destination Pearl Yorkville.

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According to a recent Instagram post from everybody’s favourite cheesemonger, Afrim Pristine of Cheese Boutique, the dinner-party host extraordinaire also goes big when she stays in.

“I got a text message from one of Martha’s entourage, Herb, who I had met in the past, requesting a cheese plate for her green room at an event she was appearing at,” says Pristine. “I asked for how many, and he said, ‘Just for Martha.’ So that was not just a little pressure.”

Pristine was given one directive: Stewart is a fan of the French cheese Époisses. So he rolled with that theme, assembling a wide array of robust, bold and creamy French delights.

“I also had to showcase some of Ontario’s greatest hits, of course, so I played against the French cheeses with a selection that was a bit harder and nuttier: things like Mountainoak Cheese’s aged gouda, an alpine-style smooth and nutty one from Wildwood Artisan Cheese, and a Cow’s Creamery cheddar,” says Pristine.

Knowing Stewart’s proclivities, he also threw in some suitably luxurious cured meats: 36-month Ibérico ham; Espelette pepperettes; Ibérico chorizo; and thinly sliced Bündnerfleisch, a cured, smoked Swiss German beef tenderloin.

Related: There’s an epic 31-stop cheese tour just two hours from Toronto

“I’ve done a lot of orders for the rich and famous, but Martha, in my books, is the biggest one yet,” says Pristine. He adds that a few logistical problems—including a delivery truck breakdown and staff calling in sick—nearly made him late dropping off the board despite hourly timing updates from Herb. Thankfully, he got there in the nick of time.

And what did Stewart think? According to Herb, she declared it “fabulous.” And in true don’t-waste-anything fashion, she even packed up the leftovers and took them home.