Mr. Bean on French cheeses

Excerpted from An idiot's guide to French cuisine - by Mr. Bean

... The only mystery about French food, as far as I'm concerned, is why anyone eats half the blooming stuff. For a nation that gets so much right; art, culture, crochette, culottes, how does it get so much wrong? Driving on the wrong side of the road and stinky cheese, for instance. The country's knee-deep in cheese and it's really not anything to write home about. Try this at home if you've got the stomach for it :

Stinky French cheese

1. Take an ordinary piece of English (non-smelly) cheese.

2. Prepare a smelly sock by wearing it for two or three days.

3. Insert cheese into sock.

4. Leave in sunny spot in the garden for a week.

5. Remove cheese from sock with gloves and tongs before serving, and enjoy friends' comments such as: 'Hey, this cheese really stinks. Is it French?'