I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to try Brillat-Savarin - I should have known a cheese named after the French gastronome would be delicious. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was a 19th-century lawyer and politician whose name lives on through his book, The Physiology of Taste, in which he muses on all things gastronomic.
Brillat-Savarin cheese can be described as decadently rich, although there are many types with a higher fat content than this variety's 40 per cent. Made in Normandy, France, from cow's milk (preferably unpasteurised) with salt and rennet (to coagulate the milk), it looks like a firm cheese because it holds its shape without oozing (unlike ripe camembert or brie) but the texture is soft, light and melt-in-the-mouth creamy. The texture is velvety even when served straight from the fridge but the cheese's subtle flavours are revealed when it reaches room temperature.
You could, if you like, use Brillat-Savarin in cooked dishes, but that would be a waste because you'd lose the lovely texture. It is delicious in a simple sandwich (place slices of the cheese in a crusty baguette, add some young rocket leaves and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil) or rocket salad (add fairly sizeable chunks of Brillat-Savarin, dress it with extra-virgin olive oil and some fresh lemon juice, then add toasted walnuts and a sprinkling of rough-flaked sea salt).