CHEESEWIRE
news and views from the cheese counter
U-turn on EU import paperwork is distorting market for UK makers By Patrick McGuigan
The Government’s last-minute U-turn on new paperwork requirements for EU foods coming into the UK has been criticised by British cheesemakers. In September, the Government scrapped plans to implement post-Brexit controls on EU agricultural foods coming into the UK, which were due to come into force on 1st October and 1st January 2022. These included vet certificates for foods of animal origin and physical border checks, which would have seen European cheesemakers subject to the same requirements as British cheesemakers exporting to Europe. However, the
controls have now been pushed back for a second time for a further six to eight months. “There’s no level playing field,” said Simon Spurrell, founder of the Cheshire Cheese Company and director at Stilton producer Hartington Creamery. “European cheesemakers are exporting cheese to the UK without any of the hurdles we face going the other way. Nothing has changed for them.” The point was echoed by Food and Drink Federation chief executive Ian Wright. “The repeated failure to implement full UK border controls on EU imports since 1st January 2021 undermines trust and confidence among businesses – worse, it actually helps the UK’s competitors,” he said. “The
Simon Spurrell of the Cheshire Cheese Company says there is not a level playing field for exporters
asymmetric nature of border controls facing exports and imports distorts the market and places many UK producers at a disadvantage.” The Cheshire Cheese Company has lost £250,000 worth of sales to the EU since Brexit because of increased bureaucracy and costs. Spurrell said that consignments now cost around £1,500 more than before Brexit, meaning they were no longer viable. But the cheesemaker is not pushing for EU makers to be subjected to the same requirements. “Imposing the same regulations on them is just cutting off your nose to spite your face. I would much rather we all sat down and worked out a reduction in paperwork for everyone. It’s not tit for tat.” Cumbrian cheesemaker Martin Gott has also seen exports in Europe crumble since Brexit, but like Spurrell does not want to see EU cheesemakers hamstrung in the same way. “Is this supposed to be what taking back control looks like?” he asked. “I don’t begrudge small cheesemakers in Europe having access to the British market. Cheeses like mine wouldn’t exist without them. They represent a vision of diversity, which is aspirational for British cheese.”
Award-winning cheesemonger Cheese Etc in Pangbourne has opened a new workshop and tasting room next door, which will be used for events, click-andcollect and packing for online sales.
Industry body Dairy UK has criticised the new trade deal between the UK and New Zealand, which it says will see cheaper, less sustainable dairy products, including cheese, flood the UK market and undermine British producers.
Berkswell Made at Ram Hall Farm in the West Midlands by the Fletcher family, Berkswell is a modern British classic. The raw sheep’s milk cheese is typically aged for four to eight months until it has a slightly grainy texture and sweet, tangy flavour, while some batches can be more savoury and brothy. Wheat beer There’s a pleasing tropical fruit flavour to more mature Berkswell cheeses, which marries nicely with the banana and bubblegum notes found in German wheat beers. Schwarz & Weiss Dunkelweizen, made by the Krafty Braumeister in Suffolk, is a particularly good match. The dark wheat beer is made with roasted and oak-smoked barley malts and has a spicy, fruity and malty flavour that complements the hard cheese beautifully. Pesto Berkswell can be a good British alternative to Pecorino or Parmesan. The Fletcher family uses their cheese to make pesto with a twist. They blitz toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic, spinach and cavolo nero with plenty of grated Berkswell in a food processor, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Perfect for pasta with more grated Berkswell to finish.
NEWS IN BRIEF
A raft of new cheese shops are opening, including second shops for Jericho in Oxfordshire, Provisions in Hackney and Hamm Tun Deli in Northamptonshire, plus first shops for Cheese on Sea in Hastings, Magdalen Cheese and Provisions in Exeter and Heritage Cheese In Dulwich.
THREE WAYS WITH...
North Wales cheesemaker Castell Gwyn has moved to new premises and is expanding production. Owner Jackie Weaver, who set up the company in 2018 and makes soft, flavoured cheeses, has built a new dairy in her garage in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, and invested in a new 500-litre vat with help from a £13,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales.
Quince jelly It’s often described as Britain’s answer to Manchego, but Berkswell has its own character with a grainier, fresher texture. So rather than membrillo, try quince jelly, which has a softer, more delicate set, and better matches the paste of the cheese. Rosebud Preserves Quince Jelly is hard to beat. The rubycoloured condiment is sweet, sharp and perfumed, picking up on fruity notes in the cheese. Vol.22 Issue 9 | November 2021
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