CHEESEWIRE

from FFD October-November 2022

PREVIEW: WORLD

Singletons collapse deemed ‘a real loss to British cheese’

By Patrick McGuigan

The fallout from Singletons & Co’s collapse into administration continued last month as Butlers acquired the company’s sheep’s cheese brand Parlick, while artisan cheesemakers lost an important export partner.

Based in Longridge, Lancashire, Singletons & Co was founded in 1934 and was known for brands including Grandma Singletons, Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire PDO and Forest of Bowland Cheddar. The company also exported cheese to more than 30 countries.

It went into administration on 23rd August due to the “e ects of Covid-19, the rising costs of milk and other additional overheads”, according to administrator Kroll.

Almost 70 sta were made redundant, with 12 kept on to wind down the business, but the collapse has also had repercussions for the wider industry. Singletons was the country’s largest producer of sheep’s cheese, buying milk from farm group Sheep Milk UK to make Parlick, stocked in Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Booths. Its demise could have been a hammer blow for farmers, but the brand was acquired by Lancashire-based Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses last month.

“As a company we are focused on improving the diversity of British cheese and ensuring the renaissance of British cheese continues,” said Butlers director Matthew Hall. “Bringing Parlick to Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses puts sheep’s milk cheese back into our range and supports a key part of the local supply chain.” He added that the company would be looking to develop new so and blue sheep’s milk cheeses in the future.

Singletons was also a major exporter to the US, India and Europe, distributing its own products and cheeses from artisan producers including Quicke’s, Charles Martell, White Lake, Shepherd’s Purse and Barber’s. The company had also recently signed a deal with the Cahill family of Ireland to manufacture avoured cheeses under the Cahill’s brand.

“What’s happened to Singletons is incredibly sad and it’s a real loss to British cheese as a whole,” said Mary Quicke, owner of Quicke’s, whose cheddar was exported to Norway, Belgium and Germany by Singletons. “It was such a well-established company, doing good things for British cheese in terms of exports and supporting local dairy farms.”

Singletons made losses of £573,000 in 2020-21 and £1.18m in 2019-20, according to its most recent annual report.

Singletons produced a variety of its own brands and exported many others

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Cheese Bar is launching a crowdfunding campaign to assist it in opening two more cheese conveyor belt restaurants in London. The first Pick & Cheese restaurant opened in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials development in 2019.

Tottenham-based Wildes Cheese closed down last month after filing for Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation. The company was set up by Philip Wilton and Keith Sides in 2011 and made cheeses including Londonshire and St Bruce.

Long Clawson has joined the handful of British cheesemakers making Stilton. Named after the brand’s founding year, 1912 uses full fat milk from Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, as per the terms of Stilton’s PDO.

It’s long been a stalwart of London’s famous market, but the Borough Cheese Company has ventured westwards with a new bricksand-mortar shop in Bristol. North Street Cheese Company, set up by Borough Cheese’s Dominic Coyte, is located in the Bedminster area of the city, which is already home to several indie shops. The shop is managed by Kim Trethowan (R) with help from her niece Tilly (L), who are part of the Trethowan family, famous for making Pitchfork cheddar and Gorwydd Caerphilly.

THREE WAYS WITH...

Abondance

This PDO-protected cheese from the Haute-Savoie is made with raw milk from Abondance cows, as well as Tarentaise and Montbéliarde breeds. The 6-12kg wheels have concave sides and are aged for at least 100 days. Beneath the washed rind, the pliable paste has a complex flavour, taking in sweet, savoury, floral and roasted notes.

Berthoud Move over fondue. The traditional way to eat Abondance is in a melted cheese dish called Berthoud. Slices of garlic are added to the the bottom of ramekins called ‘coupelles’, which are filled with thin slices of Abondance (it’s never grated) and topped with dry white wine and Madeira. The dish is then baked until molten hot and bubbling, and served with potatoes, bread and charcuterie for dunking.

White wine White wines, which cut through the rich funk of the cheese, are the traditional choice. Chasselas is particularly popular in the Savoie. Widely grown in Switzerland, but also in France, the grape is used to make wines that are lightbodied and easy-drinking with buttery and mineral notes. The oxidative wines of the Jura, such as Arbois made with Savagnin, are also a good bet.

Carrot & Coriander Relish There are fruity flavours to Abondance, which range from pineapple to apricot, but also a subtle floral fragrance as well. The flavours are echoed nicely by the sweet and spicy notes of Carrot & Coriander Relish from Shropshire-based What a Pickle! There’s an earthy note to the condiment that also picks up on the savoury notes of the cheese. The contrast between the orange relish and the ivory cheese looks pretty, too.

Small producers struggling to meet growing demand for Spanish cheese

By Patrick McGuigan

Imports of Spanish cheese to the UK rose signi cantly last year, but smaller cheesemakers are being deterred due to extra paperwork following Brexit.

According to Spanish export organisation Foods and Wines From Spain, cheese imports to the UK increased by £387k in 2021, up 57% on the year before - the biggest increase for Spanish cheese exports anywhere in the world.

Justin Slawson, director at Spanish food importer Mevalco, said the rise was partly due to better quality and range. “Spanish cheese has undergone a revolution in the last few years,” he said. “There’s a strong desire to be adventurous in what they wish to produce and to break the traditional mould of Manchego and Cabrales.”

He said post-Brexit paperwork had added around £120 to every order coming from Spain, regardless of size, which disadvantaged smaller producers, while logistics companies were charging more for delivering to the UK from Europe because of border delays and a fall in overall exports. Lead times for orders have also increased from 10 to 15-21 days due to the new requirements.

At Spanish food importer Brindisa, MD Heath Blackford said growing interest in ewe’s milk cheeses in the UK had helped sales, but that increased paperwork was a challenge.

“Brindisa chooses to work with artisan producers and this increased red tape increases the size of minimum order quantities and associated custom costs, which makes exporting less viable for some of our smaller suppliers.”

The company has absorbed some of these costs, while its Spanish subsidiary Brindisa International now acts as an exporter on behalf of small cheesemakers. Investment in temperature- and humiditycontrolled rooms has also helped Brindisa manage stock quality and ows better.

Smaller producers in Spain are being hampered by post-Brexit paperwork

BEHIND THE COUNTER TIPS OF THE TRADE

Zoe Ferreira, The Henley Larder, Henley-onThames

The petite proportions of the Henley Larder are proof that size isn’t everything. “We had grand plans of cutting cheese for customers, but there just wasn’t the room,” says owner Zoe Ferreira, who opened the shop in 2020. “What we’ve found, though, is that individually packaged cheeses actually work much better.”

The shop stocks a dozen pre-packed cheeses in a grab-and-go display fridge, from local producers including Nettlebed, Village Maid and Norton & Yarrow. It’s a tiny number by most standards, but doesn’t stop cheese from being a focal point thanks to judicious sourcing, good merchandising and smart customer service.

“We cover a wide range of flavours and textures,” she says. “Customers also don’t find it as daunting as walking up to a counter. They can see what the cheeses cost and there’s less pressure.”

The cheeses work well in gift boxes and in the shop’s new monthly subscription box. They also make ordering easier and wastage less likely.

thehenleylarder.co.uk

CHEESE IN PROFILE with

Brefu Bach

What’s the story?

Based near Bethesda in the foothills of Snowdonia is Ffarm Moelyci, where Carrie Rimes’ dairy, Cosyn Cymru (Welsh Truckle), is located. After a career in grassland science, Rimes decided to turn her lifelong interest in cheesemaking into a job. She went to France to train for three years at a dairy in Auvergne before returning to the UK to create a range of raw ewe’s milk cheese. Brefu Bach, which means “little bleat” in Welsh, is a soft, lactic cheese, made by hand using traditional breeds’ milk. It is adapted according to seasonal nuances. In the summer months, it is made with the milk from Friesland-Lleyn sheep. The dairy switches to milk from Lacaune breed in the autumn.

Milk:

Ewes, unpasteurised.

How is it made?

The curds are allowed to develop very gradually with a tiny amount of vegetarian rennet derived from a thistle extract. The curd is gently ladled into moulds, and gradually drained and turned over 48 hours, before the cheeses are surface-salted and matured for between three and seven weeks.

Appearance & texture:

Geotrichum mould gives the rind a wrinkled appearance, leading to a silky breakdown under the rind. Inside, the texture is soft, almost mousse-like, with the delicate flavours of lemon and fresh cream.

Variations: Brefu Blue.

Cheesemonger tip:

Reassure your customers that any spots of blue, green or grey moulds are perfectly safe to eat.

Chef’s recommendation:

Pair it with Welsh mountain mead, dry white wines or IPAs.

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. Visit academyofcheese.org for more information.

The Guilde is here to highlight countries not normally associated with cheesemaking

Cheesemakers without borders

The revered Roland Barthélemy has made it his mission to spread the word on cheese globally.

Interview by PATRICK MCGUIGAN Translated by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

ROLAND BARTHÉLEMY LOOKS slightly forlorn when we discuss this year’s World Cheese Awards. The normally ebullient French cheese maestro has judged at the contest every year since it began in 1988 and is famous for his sabre-rattling speeches. But his presence will be missed this November in Wales. “It’s very di cult for me not to be there,” he says. “But I have made a committent to be in Japan.”

While hundreds of judges congregate in Newport, Barthélemy will instead be in the Far East, clad in brown robes as he inducts new members into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers.

First set up in 1969 but with roots back to the 1870s, the Guilde is similar to the food and drink brotherhoods (‘confréries’) that sprung up in the Middle Ages in France. Now a global networking group for cheese industry professionals, with Barthélemy as president, the group has 9,000 members and 12 formalised ‘clubs’ in countries including Germany, Italy and the US. To become part of this exclusive set, inductees must be proposed by two existing members and attend a ceremony to be presented with a medal, certi cate and lapel badge. Think of it as a kind of hall of fame for the cheese world.

The organisation is particularly keen to bring up-and-coming cheese nations into the fold, hence the visit to Japan, but Barthélemy has also donned his robes in China, Brazil and Israel. “The Guilde is here to promote and highlight countries not normally associated with cheesemaking,” he says. “There’s a parallel and complementary nature with the World Cheese Awards in promoting talent and skill.”

Barthélemy started his career at the age of nine, helping his father select cheeses at Les Halles market. He went on to open his own highly regarded fromagerie in Paris, pen numerous cheese books and was recognised with the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur – France’s highest honour. He also helped secure ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’ (Best Cra smen of France) status for cheesemongers in 2000, which facilitated the creation of governmentrecognised cheese quali cations.

That’s not to say that everything is rosy in the spiritual home of cheese. France has seen dairy farms decline by 11% in the past two years, according to Barthélemy, with numbers predicted to fall 25% by 2025.

“Environmental aspects are a concern and people don’t want the lifestyle that comes with farming,” he says. “They don’t want to milk cows twice a day.” On the plus side, there is growing interest in organic, natural and local food, which is helping ‘fermier’ producers.

The UK does not have its own national group in the Guilde, although dozens of Brits have been inducted over the years. Barthélemy is hopeful that a formal UK club will be set up in due course with organisations such as the Academy of Cheese now putting British cheese on the map.

“British cheese has been very good for hundreds of years, but what’s been missing is that connection with the rest of the world, he says. “Britain has not exported cheese in the same way as Switzerland or Italy. But the world is changing and there is demand for eclecticism and diversity unlike at any time before.”

It sounds like Barthélemy (and his robes) will be back in the UK soon.

guildedesfromagers.fr

CROSS SECTION

Salers

Choosing a favourite cheese is an impossible task, says Barthélemy, but he confesses to a particular attachment to Salers from the Cantal region of Auvergne. As a young man, he worked at farms and dairies in the region, and still appreciates its sense of terroir.

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Made with raw milk from Salers cows (other breeds are also permitted), the hard cheese can only be produced on farms between 15th April and 15th November, under the terms of its PDO. The cows graze the rich pasture that grows from the volcanic soil and a minimum of 75% of their diet must come from within the region. Milk is curdled in wooden buckets, which naturally inoculate it with bacteria. Production methods are similar to those of cheddar. The 30-50kg cheeses are aged for 3-12 months. They have a compact texture and complex flavours, ranging from butter and fermented cream to hay, citrus and walnuts.