IGourmet Review: Cheese Clubs

With roots tracing back to the days of importing European cheeses on passenger steamships, igourmet was launched in 1997 to share specialty food finds with gourmands worldwide. The site offers a vast array of high-quality specialty foods sourced from the best producers globally, including over 900 cheeses.

Small artisan cheese producers

As champions of small- to mid-sized artisan food producers, igourmet helps food lovers discover old favorites, rare specialties, and new surprises. Committed to delivering the finest gourmet foods, igourmet aims to elevate your cooking and enhance the delicious moments in your life, offering unparalleled expertise and the largest assortment of specialty foods available anywhere.

3-4 types of cheese + 2 accompaniments

• A sample box in the International Club included Honey Chevre, Santa Teresa Pecorino, Honeybee Goat's Milk Gouda, and Limoncello Cheese, with a mini honey bear and olive oil/sea salt crackers
• A comparable Connoisseur's Club shipment was themed as "Salad Favorites" and contained Australian Marinated Feta, Roaring Forties Blue Cheese, Cypriot Halloumi, and Brown Cow Parmigiano Reggiano with Italian flatbread crackers (maybe it was two different types of crackers; otherwise we'd wonder where the second accompaniment went...).

igourmet delivers not one but two cheese clubs: International and Connoisseur's. The structure of each subscription is basically the same, with 3-4 varieties of cheese (roughly a pound in total) and two gourmet pairings like crackers or charcuterie. The main difference is, as you'd anticipate, the types of cheese: generally sourced from around the world vs. rare and unique varieties.

A bit on the expensive side

We appreciate that igourmet lets you decide if you want to pay month-to-month for your cheese club or save a little by paying for your entire subscription in advance (for 3, 6, or 12 months). Depending on which of the two memberships you choose and the payment/subscription you opt for, expect to pay anywhere from $69 to $83 per month. If we're being honest, that's a bit spendy if you consider that you're only getting about a pound of cheese (while most rival clubs send out a pound and a half for the same per-box cost or even for less money).

Good gift-giving features

But, if you're giving the Connoisseur's Club or International Club as a gift, you'll appreciate not just the payment flexibility but also the features that make this a fun cheese club to receive. Every box comes with a Tasting Guide with details about the artisans behind the cheeses and detailed pairing notes, adding a nice touch of education and fun to the experience. You'll also get a Welcome Letter via email when your subscription is confirmed, which you can print out or forward to share with the recipient of your gift.

Customer support with your happiness in mind

The customer service experience at igourmet is on point. If you need to skip a delivery or change the shipping address, they guarantee they can make the adjustment as long as you reach out by the 5th of the month. They'll still do their best to accommodate your request if you reach out beyond that date, though. And, if there's any reason you're not 100% happy with any aspect of your cheese club membership, igourmet will give you a refund or replacement as long as you contact them within 7 days. That's really generous: many competitors only give you 24-48 hours to ask for a reshipment or refund.

Lots of 4- and 5-star reviews

And, igourmet lives up to those expectations, starting with an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau. Beyond the BBB, hundreds of reviews from verified customers offer 4- and 5-star ratings for this company as a whole. Some shoppers praise specific cheeses (like all of the bleu cheese selections, the French Butter Beurre D'Isigny AOP, and the goat cheeses), while others rave about the attention to detail in packaging and customer service overall. While we did notice an uptick in complaints around the winter holidays, it's pretty par for the course for companies to experience challenges with getting shipments delivered on time at that time of the year (especially with perishable goods like cheese that can't just be left on a doorstep long-term).

We recommend these two cheese clubs

igourmet gets a high rating from us. Both cheese clubs deliver a tantalizing variety of cheeses and accompaniments (even if the total weight is a bit skimpy compared to rival providers), and your satisfaction is guaranteed. We love the payment flexibility and the commitment to customer happiness, so it almost goes without saying that igourmet's International and Connoisseur's Cheese Clubs earn our recommendation.

Learn More  ➜

On the iGourmet website