CHEESEWIRE

Paxton & Whit eld doubles maturing capacity with new HQ

By Patrick McGuigan

Paxton & Whit eld has invested heavily in cutting-edge cheese maturing rooms as part of a move to new headquarters, which will more than double capacity for Britain’s oldest cheesemonger.

The company, which has three shops, plus online and wholesale businesses, has moved to new 10,000 sq premises in Bourton-on-theWater, Gloucestershire, which are twice the size of its previous HQ.

The building has been designed from scratch to be a state-of-the-art cheese hub, with ve maturing rooms and a central o ce with windows looking onto the cheeses.

There is also a provision for a 5,000 sq expansion in the future.

MD James Rutter told FFD that strong growth over the past two years had meant the company’s previous premises at the same trading estate were “creaking at the seams”.

“It’s a big investment at the right time,” said Rutter. “We saw double-digit growth last year with big growth in online, corporate and wholesale. This gives us the platform to continue to build the business.”

The new maturing rooms, tted by Capital Refrigeration Services, use a static coil system rather than fans, so the cheeses are gently cooled without drying.

The hard cheese room is able to hold 450-600 truckles of cheddar, while there are also three so cheese rooms set at di erent temperatures and humidities, plus a large cold store.

“The maturing rooms will allow us to work more closely with cheesemakers to ensure consistency, but also to help solve their storage problems,” said Rutter. “Cheesemakers o en have a glut of milk in the summer when cheese sales are lower, so we can work with them on longer ageing cheeses, which are ready for the winter months.

“It will also allow us to develop new products that are unique to us and collaborate with retail and restaurant customers on bespoke products, washed in local ale or wine, for example.”

Paxton & Whit eld can trace its history back to 1742. It was acquired in 2002 by entrepreneur Andrew Brownsword, who made his fortune in greetings cards and also owns hotels, including Gidleigh Park in Devon. The move represents the biggest investment in Paxton & Whit eld under Brownsword’s ownership, said Rutter.

The state-of-the-art 10,000 sq ft premises is not far from Paxton’s previous headquarters in Gloucestershire paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

NEWS IN BRIEF

Cheesemonger Ned Palmer has followed up his best-selling book A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles with a new guide. A Cheesemonger’s Compendium of British & Irish Cheese covers 150 different cheeses.

Reaseheath College in Nantwich, which has been training dairy students since 1921, celebrated 100 years of cheesemaking in October with apprentice dairy technologists developing a unique Reaseheath 100 Cheshire cheese.

New research has found that workers at a salt mine in Austria were eating blue cheese up to 2,700 years ago – much earlier than the first blues were first thought have been created. Scientists made the discovery by analysing samples of human excrement found at the Hallstatt mine in the Alps.

A Comté-style cheese made by a Frenchman on a farm in Cork was named Supreme Champion at the 2021 Irish Cheeses Awards, organised by Cáis, the association of Irish farmhouse cheesemakers.

Templegall, created by Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin (pictured) at Hegarty’s Cheese near Cork City, is made in 40kg wheels with raw cows’ milk and is aged for at least nine months.

THREE WAYS WITH...

St Helena

A collaboration between cheesemakers Blake Bowden and Julie Cheyney of St Jude Cheese, St Helena is a new semisoft washed rind cheese with a buttery paste that is similar in style to SaintNectaire. Made with raw Montbeliarde cows’ milk on Fen Farm in Suffolk, the rind has a mottled, dusky appearance, while the interior is full of warm milky flavours and earthy notes from the rind.

Cider There’s a comforting dairy sweetness to St Helena, tinged with a gently funky flavour from the rind, which lends itself beautifully to cider. Blake Bowden recommends a medium cider – the slightly sweeter profile matches up with the milky cheese, but there’s also enough body to stand up to the washed rind. Try Pilton Keeved Cider, which uses wild yeasts and a process called keeving to create a naturally sweet, lightly sparkling cider with a cleansing astringency.

Toastie St Helena is a great melter, turning silky and gooey when heated. Try it molten and oozing on potatoes or as a Reblochon substitute in tartiflette. It also works well in a toastie, as demonstrated by local Bungay coffee shop Front Room, which melts the cheese with spinach and red onion jam. Smoked ham, a dab of mustard and a few sliced cornichons work equally well.

Peanuts The bulging texture of St Helena calls for crunch when it comes to accompaniments. Pickles with bite and acidity contrast nicely, but peanuts also provide a good counterpoint to the yielding texture of the cheese. Unsalted are best, emphasising a subtle nuttiness, while also working with its creaminess.

Irish Porter cheddar-maker Cahill’s goes into liquidation

By Patrick McGuigan

One of Ireland’s oldest cheesemakers, known around the world for its Irish Porterand whiskey- avoured cheeses, has gone into liquidation.

Limerick-based Cahill’s Farm Cheese, which can trace its history back to the 1860s, went into voluntary liquidation on 11th October following an Extraordinary General Meeting.

The family company, which employed 20 people at its premises in Newcastle West, expanded signi cantly in the 2000s as demand for its avoured cheddars grew in countries including the UK, the US and Canada.

In July, the company initiated a recall for 33 batches of cheese because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Products including Cahill’s Original Irish Porter Cheddar and cheeses avoured with Irish Whiskey, Red Wine and Irish Cream Liqueur were recalled in Ireland, the UK, the US and Canada, a ecting retailers including Whole Foods Market, Tesco and Lidl, plus independent delis, farm shops and cheesemongers.

Investigations identi ed a single piece of equipment in the company’s facility as the potential source of the issue, which was immediately removed from the production line. The company said in its recall notices that all products manufactured since that point had tested fully clear.

The Cahill family rst farmed in Limerick in the 1860s, with cheesemaking started by William and Hannah Cahill in 1957.

Their son David Cahill and his wife Marian developed a range of avoured cheddars in 1982. The business was run by the fourth generation of the family when it went into liquidation. In 2017, it was reported that turnover stood at €3m with exports accounting for 70% of sales.

FFD contacted the Dublinbased liquidator, David Colleran of Colleran Chartered Accountants, for further details, but he did not respond before going to press.

The Limerick firm’s most famous product was its Irish Porter Cheddar but it produced a variety of flavour-added cheeses

BEHIND THE COUNTER TIPS OF THE TRADE

Oli Smith, The Bristol Cheesemonger, Bristol,

Space is at a premium at the Bristol Cheesemonger, which is housed in a refrigerated shipping container at Bristol’s Wapping Wharf.

Less can be more, however, with all four walls lined with cheese to create an impressive display. The cheeses also keep better in a small space, says co-owner Oli Smith, who took over the shop two months ago with his wife Jenny Howell. “It’s small, but if you put enough cheeses in one place, they start regulating themselves.”

Pre-pandemic, customers would fill the space to create a convivial atmosphere, but the shop currently sets a limit of one at a time. “It’s quite challenging, but we’ve moved the shop around so that we can be more efficient,” says Smith. “Once we’ve cut the cheese, we always rewrap the original piece and put it back on display. That way we’re ready to serve the next person.”

bristol-cheese.co.uk

CHEESE IN PROFILE with

Taleggio PDO

What’s the story?

Taleggio PDO has a long history, in fact some say it could be one of the oldest soft cheeses, with trading documents dating back to the 13th Century. It is native to the Taleggio Valley in the Bergamo Province of Northern Italy’s Lombardy Region, where farmers would use the milk from the cows returning from their summer Alpine pastures. Nowadays, its PDO status allows production in the Veneto and Piedmont Regions, where large-scale dairies with year-round operations sit alongside the smaller farmhouses that use more traditional methods.

Milk:

Cows’ milk, either unpasteurised or pasteurised depending on the cheesemaker.

How is it made?

The newly-formed curd (produced with animal rennet) is separated twice, which helps produce a denser consistency, and is then poured into the signature square moulds. The ageing, on wooden planks, lasts for around 35 days and involves turning several times and salting by hand or with brine. Each cheese is washed every 7 days to prevent an overgrowth of mould.

Appearance & texture:

The characteristic soft, pinkish rind develops mottled, grey or sage-green blooms over time, giving way to a dense, velvety paste. The rich, buttery tones of Taleggio PDO develop into a fruity finish with a strong, meaty aroma, becoming more intense with age.

Variations:

None.

Cheesemonger tip:

A chunk of Taleggio can easily take pride of place on a cheese board, accompanied by some crusty bread. It is also the perfect shape for slicing into sandwiches or a baguette.

Chef’s recommendation:

Taleggio is perfect for cooking with, it melts beautifully over pizza, pasta or simple roasted vegetables. Lombardians typically serve it with the local sparkling wine, but it pairs well with any light red or white, particularly from a Pinot Noir grape.

There are a number of ways you can study Level 1 & 2 Academy of Cheese courses; online as self-study eLearning, interactive virtual classes or traditional classes at a venue. academyofcheese.org

Back from the brink

In the first month after COVID, I took £90. I couldn’t carry on like that.

The pandemic nearly saw off Hamm Tun Fine Foods. But Northamptonshire’s only artisan cheesemaker proved too resourceful to go down.

Interview by Patrick McGuigan

CHEESEMAKER GARY BRADSHAW has just finished a 14-hour day but is still full of energy. The owner of Hamm Tun Fine Foods in Northamptonshire has had a day off from making cheese to help his wife Rachael open a farm shop and cafe at hotel and spa Whittlebury Park.

It’s the second shop they have opened, joining the original deli in Long Buckby, and Bradshaw is on a high, explaining how they will have more than 30 British cheeses on the counter, with his Cobbler’s Nibble and Northamptonshire Blue taking pride of place.

Getting to this happy point has been far from easy. A year ago, it looked like Bradshaw might be forced to give up cheesemaking. “Covid almost finished me,” he admits. “The last two years have felt like a long time.”

Named after the Saxon name for Northampton, Hamm Tun Fine Foods was set up by Bradshaw in 2013, while his wife opened the first Hamm Tun Deli in 2019.

The cheesemaking business grew by supplying restaurants and hotels, plus Towcester Racecourse and Silverstone, with Bradshaw moving to new premises at the start of 2020. He had just finished a £30k fit-out when COVID struck and 85% of his business was wiped out. “In the first month after COVID, I took £90,” he says. “It was clear that I couldn’t carry on like that.”

Bradshaw was swift to react. He scaled back production and sold through the deli and deliveries, but it still wasn’t enough to cover the rent. By December 2020, the business was in serious trouble, so Bradshaw took the unusual step of crowd-funding to raise capital and let people know the only cheesemaker in Northamptonshire was in danger of disappearing. In return for donations, he offered tote bags, T-shirts and boxes of cheese.

His plight was quickly picked up by local celebrities, including food writer William Sitwell, who highlighted Hamm Tun’s troubles in an article and podcast for The Telegraph. Reverend Richard Coles also got on board, urging his 420,000 Twitter followers to back the scheme. “We went from £1,000 to £7,500 in six hours after he tweeted,” says Bradshaw.

The exposure helped the business raise more than £12,500 in two months, which pulled it through the dark days of January and February. Around 280 cheese boxes were sent out to supporters in March. The other thing that saved the company was the separate retail business, which ironically saw sales rocket during lockdown. The deli’s success is part of the reason why the couple has taken on the second site. “I was so reliant on foodservice that it makes sense to develop other markets, like our own shops and delivering to retailers.”

The strategy is working, with Hamm Tun back up to producing around 160kg of cheese a week, split between Northamptonshire Blue, Little Bertie and Cobbler’s Nibble. In the runup to Christmas, that figure has doubled again and there are plans to increase production to an average 350kg a week and work with national wholesalers.

“It amazed me how supportive the public was,” says Bradshaw. “We had people donating £5 or £10 to the crowd funder who didn’t want anything in return. They just wanted to help.”

hammtunfinefoods.co.uk

CROSS SECTION

Northamptonshire Blue

1

A semi-soft, 3kg blue, Northamptonshire Blue is made with raw Jersey milk and is aged for five to six weeks, during which time it develops a natural rind.

2 3

The rich, golden milk has been particularly beneficial for Northamptonshire Blue, giving it a sunset tinge and moist, flaky texture. The cheese becomes softer around the blue veins and underneath the rind as it matures, while the flavour is rich and lingering, taking in double cream, fruity and boozy notes. Bradshaw switched milk supplier last year, from a farm with Friesian cows to Brackley-based Barnowl Jerseys, and found the increased fat content (6% compared to 4%) tricky to manage at first, especially in the crumbly Cobbler’s Nibble. But by adjusting the temperature, cut of the curd and amount of starter cultures, the cheeses have quickly found their stride.

Eyes on the prize

Castile & León’s cheesemakers won a string of medals at the World Cheese Awards, demonstrating the Spanish region’s diversity, innovation and commitment to quality

IT’S A TOUGH job to impress a World Cheese Awards judge. From cheesemongers and cheesemakers to food writers and chefs, the people picked to judge the best cheeses in the world are experts in their eld, with a keen eye for detail and uncompromising standards.

So it’s remarkable that at last month’s World Cheese Awards in Oviedo, Asturias, more than 40 cheeses from Castile & León in Northern Spain were recognised with awards when blind tasted by the expert judges. Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold awards rained down on the region’s cheesemakers, con rming Castile & León’s place as one of the world’s most important cheese destinations.

What’s particularly interesting about the results is that, while protected cheeses such as Zamorano and Valdeón performed well, there were also big wins for innovative, modern cheeses.

Super Gold medal-winning La Reserva from Valladolid-based Entrepinares is a good example. A hard cheese made with a mix of cows’, sheep’s and goats’ milk, it is aged for more than 20 months – much longer than traditional varieties.

“There are a wide range of traditional cheeses in Spain; one of them is the mixed milk cheese,” says export manager Mario Flecha García. “But we decided to create a unique cheese with an unmistakable avor – intense, slightly sweet, sour and salty with aromas of to ee. Controlled maturation for over 20 months and sourcing milk from specially selected farms, makes this a revolutionary concept for cheese in Spain.”

Another original, but very di erent Super Gold winner was a fresh goats’ cheese avoured with honey. Made by Lácteas Cobreros in Zamora, the Oh My Cheese Goat’s Cheese Roll is so , fresh and avoured with honey, which gives a delicate sweetness.

The nal cheesemaker from Castile & León to take Super Gold was Cañarejal in Pollos for its distinctive Cremoso cheese – a super runny torta-style sheep’s milk cheese, made with cardoon rennet. The company, which is run by the Santos family, also won a Bronze medal for its Mantecoso cheese.

“It’s a great satisfaction that a family business is recognized for its work with awards,” says company spokeswoman Nuria Alonso López. “Cremoso is a very di erent product from what is on the market, due to its rind and its nuances.”

Beyond the impact on sales, winning awards also puts a spring in the step of the cheesemaker, providing validation and welcome recognition for their hard work. Joaquín Manchado, whose Moncedillo Original cheese won a Gold medal last month, says: “The reaction to winning is one of joy, but with your feet on the ground. The judges valued our cheese and that drives you and excites you.”

Moncedillo Original is made in Cedillo de la Torre, Segovia, with raw milk from the native Churra breed of sheep, which is collected from a single farm. The 450g cheeses are not pressed and are matured for 40 days, developing a pretty blue rind. The texture is elastic and smooth with a lactic avour and notes of malted cereal, hay and toasted nuts.

Showcasing the quality of Castile & Leon’s sheep’s milk is also a key consideration of La Moldera Real, a cheesemaker in Santiago Millas, which won Gold for its semi-curado Pata de Mulo La Trashumancia cheese. The company has pioneered the renaissance of Pata de Mulo (‘mule’s leg’ cheeses) since 1984 when cheesemaker Pedro Quiñones first revived production of this cylindrical queso, which has a long history. He uses raw sheep’s milk from his own farm to create a buttery and tangy flavour that is as unique as the cheese’s unusual shape.

While appearance, body and aroma are important when judges are assessing cheeses at the awards, it is flavour that is the crucial criteria when it comes to awarding a medal. Cheeses with complex and balanced flavours tend to score highly.

At Queserías Del Tiétar in Ávila, which makes Monte Enebro, a lactic, ashed goats’ cheese, the company has spent years refining and perfecting the visual and organoleptic qualities of its cheese, which helps explain why it received Gold last month.

“We believe this award was achieved thanks to the cheese’s appearance, smell, that flawless whiteness in the cut, and especially, its flavour and creamy texture,” says owner Paloma Báez. “Its creaminess, its lactic-acidic and mushroom aroma, as well as that long aftertaste from the rind, which contributes to an intense and slightly spicy flavour.”

Flavour is also a preoccupation for Quesos Cerrato in Palencia, which has created a new sheep’s and cows’ milk cheese called Cerrato Umami. Aged for eight months to encourage intense savoury notes, the cheese won a Gold at last month’s awards. “It has an intense flavour where the umami flavour stands out, accompanied by notes of sweet nuts, which offers a very round bouquet,” says marketing manager Víctor Caña.

The simple flavours of fresh cheeses can also catch a judge’s attention, if the cheese is flawless and manages to express the quality of the milk. There are few simpler than Requesón – a Spanish whey cheese made in a similar way to Ricotta. Low in fat and high in protein, the fresh cheese is deceptively uncomplicated in flavour with delicate dairy notes. Quesería La Antigua, which won a Gold for its Requesón, uses whey left over from the production of hard sheep’s milk cheeses – a practice that has taken place for generations.

“For the team at Quesería La Antigua, our Requesón is a tribute to our parents’ and grandparents’ shepherding history,” says Eva López, marketing manager. “It is healthy and natural, it is traditional and it has history.”

Sheep’s milk cheeses from Quesería Montequesos in Villanubla, near Valladolid, were also recognised by the judges with two Gold medals for the company’s Viejo and Selección-24 cheeses. The hard cheeses are made with milk from Churra sheep and are aged for 14 months and 24 months, respectively, until nutty and spicy. The company also won silver and bronze for two other cheeses, proving there is something about the combination of the milk and terroir of Castile & León that is irresistible to World Cheese Awards judges.

Montequesos’ co-owner Abel Ramos Martinez is certainly delighted with the results. “These awards give us an immense joy to see that the work that we do with so much affection is valued by others,” he says.

entrepinares.es lacteascobreros.com canarejal.es moncedillo.com lamolderareal.com queseriasdeltietar.com quesoscerrato.com queserialaantigua.com queseriamontequesos.com www.jcyl.es

For more information, contact:

promocion.ice@jcyl.es

CASTILE & LEÓN WORLD CHEESE AWARDS WINNERS

SUPER GOLD

Oh My Cheese Rulo De Cabra Miel, Lácteas

Cobreros

Cañarejal Cremoso, Cañarejal La Reserva, Queserías Entrepinares

GOLD

Montequesos Viejo, Montequesos Selección 24,

Quesería Montequesos

Moncedillo Original, Quesos Moncedillo Queso Umami Cerrato, Quesos Cerrato Pata De Mulo Semicurado, La Moldera Real La Antigua Requeson, Gestion Agro Ganadera/La

Antigua De Fuentesaúco

Monte Enebro, Queserías Del Tiétar

SILVER

Queso Muzientes Curado, Queso Muzientes Añejo Granja, Quesería Artesanal De Mucientes Pata Mulo, Queso De Oveja Con Boletus, Servilleta De Cabra, Rueda Cheesemonger Musgo De Capra, Musgo Lavado, Barraqueño,

Quesos Elvira García

Hacienda Zorita Queso Cabra, Hacienda Zorita Queso Oveja Vino, Hacienda Zorita Farma Food Oveja Semicurado, Fresco Vaca Tradicional,

Industrias Lácteas San Vicente

Peña Amaya, Queso Semicurado De Oveja,

Hermanos Sadornil Castrillo

Pataoveja, Quesería Montequesos Zamorano DOP Curado El Pastor, Quesos El

Pastor

Cerrato 60-40, Quesos Cerrato Oveja Curado Marcos Cond, Queserías De Zamora La Antigua Tartufo, Gestion Agro Ganadera/La

Antigua De Fuentesaúco

Queso Cremoso Pago Los Vivales, Baltasar

Moralejo E Hijos

Valdeon, Queserías Picos De Europa Queso Mezcla Intenso, Valle De San Juan Palencia Queso Oveja Curado, Quesos Ilbesa Cremoso De Oveja Manzer, Industrias Lácteas

Manzano

Iberico Blended Cheese, Quesos Revilla Señorio De Montelarreina, Lácteas Castellano-

Leónesas

Oh My Cheese Rulo De Cabra Con Flores, Lácteas

Cobreros

BRONZE

Torozo Curado, Quejigo Curado, Quejigo Semicurado, Quesería Las Cortas Molino Real DOP Zamorano, Oveja Añejo Marcos Conde, Queserías De Zamora Queso Oveja Ahumado, Queso Oveja Viejo, Valle

De San Juan Palencia

Queso Viejo De Oveja, Queso Viejo De Oveja Con Trufa, Lácteas Zamoro Queso Oveja Artesano, Queso Oveja Semicurado,

Gabino Perez

Añejo Campoveja, Trufado Campoveja, Herederos

De Felix Sanz

Queso Viejo, Queso Curado, El Pilar Queso Semicurado Mezcla Lagunilla, Queso Viejo Mezcla La Olmeda, Quesos Lagunilla Goat Log With Pineapple, Oveja Curado Castellano, Oveja Añejo Castellano, Quesos El Pastor Oh My Cheese Rulo De Cabra Con Semillas, Perlas De Cabra Rellenas De Limon, Perlas De Cabra Rellenas De Cerezas, Natural De Cabra Precortado,

Lácteas Cobreros

Fortín De Capra, Canto Viejo, Luna Roja, Quesos

Elvira García

Pago Los Vivales Burgundy Label - Old, Pago Los Vivales Green Label - Semi Cured, Baltasar

Moralejo E Hijos

La Paisana Del Esla Semicurado, Sociedad

Cooperativa Vegaesla

Queso Curado, Quesos Quevedo Queso Pata De Mulo La Cruz Del Pobre, Hijos De

Eulalio Escarda

Queso Oveja Añejo, Quesos Ilbesa Queso Oveja Añejo, Industrias Lácteas Manzano Queso Para Untar Con Finas Hierbas Reny Picot, Queso Para Untar Reny Picot, Queso Carvel De Mezcla Semicurado, Lácteas Castellano-Leónesas Vellon De Fuentesauco DOP Zamorano Añejo,

Gestion Agro Ganadera/La Antigua De Fuentesaúco

Montequesos Curado, Quesería Montequesos Mezcla Curado, Industrias Lácteas San Vicente Señorío De Amaya, Hermanos Sadornil Castrillo Queso Tierno El Zarzal, La Campesinita Canal Especial Leche Cruda, Grupo Quesos Canal Queso Curado Hernández García, Quesos

Hernández García

Consorcio Promocion Del Ovino, Consorcio De

Promoción Del Ovino S.Coop

Queso Reserva, Quesería Laurus Queso De Oveja De Leche Cruda Con Dos Cuajos Animal Y Vegetal, Quesería Quesoncala Cañarejal Mantecoso, Cañarejal