Good Cheese 2021-22 by Guild of Fine Food

2021-2022 | £4.50

INSIDE THIS EDITION Recipes from Asturias An in-depth look at France Vegan alternatives

REIMAGINING THE CLASSICS

Join us and explore some very modern pairings with wine

Runaway Relish

info@croomecuisine.com | 01905 350788 | www.croomecuisine.com

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

welcome

THANKS TO THE PANDEMIC, the way we think about the future (of anything, not just cheese) has changed. It seems that there are two distinct mindsets: looking back nostalgically and hoping for things to return to the way they were or keenly waiting to embrace entirely new ideas and ways of doing things. The likelihood is that the future is going to be a blend of tradition and fresh thinking – and this edition of Good Cheese backs that theory up. From a cursory glance at our line-up of features, you might think we’ve been a little preoccupied with the past. Yes, there’s an in-depth look at the scene in France, a profile of a 30-year-old British cheese, a feature about pastures,

and even a cheese & wine tasting session. But, in every case, these articles are forward-looking. It seems that things can change even in the most established and traditional of cheese nations. Of course, it takes more than three decades to perfect a recipe in the dairy (Lincolnshire Poacher is still tweaking and revising). Just because grass has grown for millions of years, it doesn’t mean you can’t manage it in ways that are better for dairy output and the environment. And I will wager that you won’t have tried many of the wine matches our panel has tested. For the most daring of our readers, we’ve even explored the emergence of artisanal plant-based cheese alternatives

and pondered on their viability in the counter. When you’ve finished reading through all of this, you’ll probably want to go out and buy some cheese – so turn to the back pages for our most comprehensive directory of UK retailers yet. After all, there’s no time like the present.

INSIDE

TASTING: CHEESE & WINE

VEGAN ALTERNATIVES

REGENERATIVE FARMING

ACCOMPANIMENTS

HOW THEY SERVE IT IN ASTURIAS

FIND A CHEESE SHOP

COUNTER CULTURE

What’s new and what’s happening in the world of fine cheese

MEET THE MAKER: LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER

Somewhere between cheddar and Alpine, this cheese has been evolving for 30 years

COUNTRY FOCUS: FRANCE

Despite its rich tradition, the world’s most renowned cheese nation is undergoing changes on both the retail and the production front

A panel of cheese and wine experts tests out some decidedly modern takes on the classic pairing.

Cheesemaking farms across the UK are rethinking their approach to pasture land, with the aim of reducing environmental impact

This Spanish region and its capital Oviedo host the 2021 World Cheese Awards. Find out how the locals serve and cook with the native cheese

Michael Lane editor

37 It may be controversial but there are some truly artisanal products coming through in the plantbased ‘cheese’ category

Discover a host of chutneys, crackers and more to pep up your cheeseboards Track down a great cheesemonger near you with our most comprehensive directory of UK specialist stores yet

10 34

28 2021-2022 | £4.50

INSIDE THIS EDITION Recipes from Asturias An in-depth look at France Vegan alternatives

REIMAGINING THE CLASSICS

Cover image: Sean Calitz

Join us and explore some very modern pairings with wine

EDITORIAL editorial@gff.co.uk Editor: Michael Lane Assistant editor: Tom Dale Art Director: Mark Windsor Contributors: Nick Baines, Sean Calitz, Mónica R Goya, Patrick McGuigan

ADVERTISING advertise@gff.co.uk Sales director: Sally Coley Sales manager: Ruth Debnam Sales executives: Becky Haskett, Sam Coleman

GENERAL ENQUIRIES Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065 info@gff.co.uk, gff.co.uk Guild of Fine Food, Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK PRINTED BY Blackmore

PUBLISHED BY The Guild of Fine Food Ltd www.gff.co.uk © The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2021. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

counter culture

What’s new in the world of speciality cheese? UK cheese retail continues to grow Despite the pandemic and the online selling boom of 2020, the UK’s bricks and mortar retail scene is going from strength to strength with a host of new openings and shop extensions taking place. Cheese Etc, based in Pangbourne near Reading, has converted some of its warehousing space (pictured right) near the main shop into a tasting room to host events and it has also added a packaging-free dry goods vending area, dubbed Loose Larder, to its new space. In Northern Ireland, deli Indie Füde has opened a cheese-focused second shop featuring a temperature-controlled serving area on Belfast’s Ormeau Road (pictured bottom right). The retailer is also partnering with a local cheesemaker to set up a small production unit in the city’s Banana Block development. The Courtyard Dairy has been a beacon of cheesemongering from its base in the Yorkshire Dales over the last couple of years and now founders Andy and Cathy Swinscoe are planning a further expansion of the site. The end result will be a larger retail area, extra space for maturing cheeses and a new improved version of the business’s cheese museum. Meanwhile, Oxford’s Jericho Cheese Company has opened a second shop – on Ship Street in the city centre – and Cardiff shop Madame Fromage has opened a new premises in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. North London cheese & wine specialist Provisions has also doubled its offering by setting up a second outlet in Hackney as a sister business to its original Holloway Road site.

Shepherds Purse to rename Yorkshire Fettle again

Shepherds Purse is looking to rename its Yorkshire Fettle cheese for the second time following demands from Greek cheesemakers, who argue its name breaches the PDO for Feta. First made in 1987 as Yorkshire Feta, the crumbly, sheep’s milk cheese was renamed Yorkshire Fettle in 2008 when Feta won PDO status. However, the Federation of Greek Dairy Products Industries believes Fettle is still too similar to the name Feta and has demanded that Shepherds Purse stop using it. The Yorkshire cheesemaker disagrees but does not have the resources for a legal fight, so will, once again, rename the product. A new name had not yet been chosen as Good Cheese went to press. Co-owner Caroline Bell said: “Whilst we agree whole heartedly with the spirit of PDO legislation, we don’t believe that our name breaches it. But our resources to fight it are limited, particularly after the pandemic.” Bell’s sister and co-owner Katie Matten said the enforced change was “a blow” after investing heavily in new equipment and new packaging during the pandemic to help support sheep milk farmers. shepherdspurse.co.uk

Ukraine hosts inaugural awards The first ever Ukrainian ProCheese Awards Cheese Festival was held at the Parkovy exhibition centre in Kyiv, on 22nd-23rd May. A host of expert judges deemed Shedevr (which translates as ‘Masterpiece’) from Dooobra Farm to be the winning cheese while Nadiya Frantovska won the Grand Prix of the Cheesemonger competition for the best cheeseboard. Both winners were invited to the 2021 World Cheese Awards, held in Oviedo. awards.procheese.ua

NEW CHEESES Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses has launched a new range called This Is Proper. It consists of Creamy Lancashire, Crumbly Lancashire, Double Gloucester, Tasty Lancashire, Red Leicester and Goats Cheese. All are made from milk sourced within a 10-mile radius of Butlers’ family herd. They are also fully vegetarian, graded by strength and available in 100% recyclable packaging. butlerscheeses.co.uk

Holker Farm in Cumbria has had a busy 2021, having created not one but two new cheeses. GoaShee is a mixed-milk cheese (30% sheep’s milk, 70% goats’), similar in style to several Italian and Spanish hard cheeses, that showcases both the rich sweetness of sheep’s milk and floral notes from the goats’ milk The second creation is the semi-soft goats’ milk Lady Grey, which has a grassy, refreshing white paste and a distinctive peppery grey rind. Both are available through The Fine Cheese Co. stjamescheese.co.uk finecheese.co.uk

Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire has invested £100,000 in new equipment for making a new Halloumi-style grilling cheese called Buffalomi. The business, which is owned by former Formula 1 driver Jody Scheckter, is best known for making buffalo mozzarella, using milk from its own 700-strong herd of buffaloes. Buffalomi is made with 90% cows’ milk mixed with 10% buffalo milk and has a softer texture and lower salt content than Halloumi. laverstokepark.co.uk

Paxton & Whitfield has added a Spanish torta-style cheese called Cremoso to its range. Made by Cañarejal in Valladolid, Castile y León, the 250g spoonable cheeses are made with raw ewe’s milk and cardoon thistle, and have a bloomy white rind. The cheesemonger has also added Georgelet Buchette – an unpasteurised goats’ milk soft cheese from Poitou Charentes in south-west France and a Swiss Alpine cows’ milk cheese called Schnebelhorn. paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

counter culture

NEWS ROUND-UP The iconic British cheese Tunworth has been rebranded with a more modern look, ahead of plans to significantly expand production. Producer Hampshire Cheese Co launched Tunworth in 2005 and has since added the spruce-wrapped Winslade to the range. Both have been rebranded, with the words ‘soft cheese’ removed and a simpler design. hampshirecheesecompany.co.uk

Swiss cheese affineur Roger von Mühlenen has died in Bern at the age of 89. His career in affinage spanned some 60 years, and he was also executive president of von Mühlenen AG from 1972 until 2011. In 2011, he left the business and joined his son Walo to found a new cheese firm, Walo von Mühlenen AG, of which he was president until shortly before his death. affineurwalo.ch

A new book written by cheesemonger Svetlana Kukharchuk – owner of The Cheese Lady shop in Haddington, Scotland – reveals the secrets of how to understand and appreciate fine cheese. The Cheese Connoisseur’s Handbook (Rethink Press, £12.99) explains how to buy, store, taste and serve cheese, as well as detailing how cheese is made, its history and nutritional value. thecheeselady.co.uk

Fen Farm Dairy’s Jonny Crickmore has hailed the good work and community spirit of the British artisan cheese industry after the collaborative effort to save the “mountains” of cheese that piled up as the first COVID lockdown struck. “It really was an amazing example of how supportive and energetic the British food industry is,” he said. “We all pull together and we are always stronger for it.” fenfarmdairy.co.uk

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Scientists create new strains of blue cheese mould By Patrick McGuigan A British scientist has discovered it is possible to naturally breed the blue cheese mould Penicillium roqueforti to create completely new varieties with unique cheesemaking properties. The breakthrough from Paul Dyer, professor of fungal biology at the University of Nottingham, has now been commercialised, which means that cheesemakers could now have a new way of varying textures and flavours. The company bringing this to market, Myconeos, has carried out extensive trials with artisan cheesemakers Moyden’s Hand Made Cheese in Shropshire and Highland Fine Cheeses in Ross-shire. A range of new blue moulds is now available under the Mycoforti brand. The initial line-up includes four strains – Classic, Mild, Intense and Artisan – which each provide different flavour and texture characteristics in cheese. “We have new strains that give very different flavour, aroma, texture and colour properties,” said Dr Jacek Obuchowicz, CEO of Myconeos.

“We have developed blue moulds that can break down fat 20 times faster than existing moulds, or alternatively work much more slowly. Beyond that, we are looking at strains for goats’ or sheep’s milk blues. We want to be able to provide a toolbox that mould-ripened cheesemakers can use to create new products and sensations.” A bespoke mould was developed for Moyden’s by isolating a wild strain of blue mould from a hay bale at a Shropshire farm. Cheesemaker Martin Moyden plans to use it to make a new version of his flagship cheese called Wild Wrekin Blue. myconeos.com

Quicke’s and Academy of Cheese searching for Affineur of the Year The first-ever Affineur of the Year competition has been set up by Devon-based cheesemaker Quicke’s and the Academy of Cheese, to help celebrate and foster the art of maturing cheese in the UK. Eight three-month matured 27kg truckles of Quicke’s cheddar are now in place at maturing rooms across the country, where they will stay under the care of each competitor for the duration of the competition. Following nine months of turning, tweaking and grading, as each cheddar reacts to the specific temperature, humidity levels and unique microflora within its cheese store, all eight truckles will be judged by a panel of industry experts at a live event in February 2022. The competitors in the inaugural Affineur of the Year competition are Brindisa, Buchanans Cheesemonger, Cheese Plus, Heritage Cheese, Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, Neal’s Yard Dairy, No2 Pound Street and Paxton & Whitfield. The Academy of Cheese was created in 2016 to establish an industry-supported, recognised and certified development programme to promote cheese knowledge. With its four-level cheese qualification, the not-for-profit organisation offers a programme that will build knowledge and skills in the full cheese cycle; from cheesemaking through affinage and selling to consumers.

quickes.co.uk academyofcheese.orgeuropeanfinecheese.com

Saputo buys Wensleydale Creamery

The company that saved Yorkshire Wensleydale from extinction nearly 30 years ago has been acquired by dairy multinational Saputo. The £23m deal to buy Hawes-based Wensleydale Dairy Products was announced in July by Canadian firm Saputo, which has 61 manufacturing facilities and 17,300 employees globally. The Wensleydale Creamery employs more than 200 staff. The company was previously owned by Dairy Crest, which closed the plant in 1992 and moved production of the famous crumbly cheese to Lancashire. However, a local businessman and former creamery managers successfully launched a management buyout and restarted Wensleydale production at the site in the same year. One of the team was David Hartley, who was instrumental in achieving PGI status for Yorkshire Wensleydale in 2013, and served as MD until his death from cancer in December 2020

The World’s Best Artisan Cheese B ROUGH T TO YO U BY T H E F IN E C H EES E CO. A P ROUD SPONS OR O F T H E WOR L D C H EES E AWA R D S .

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GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Castile and León

Comté: Crafted for generations to cook with all year round This beautifully diverse French cheese is adored by food lovers and chefs alike, and with over 80 flavour profiles, it is the dream cheese to cook with. WITH CONSUMERS CONTINUING to spend a lot more time at home, they are regularly searching for new recipe inspiration to transform their home cooking. Comté is the perfect cheese to cook with all year round, thanks to its ability to melt beautifully into all kinds of dishes. Adding a unique and delicious flavour to any recipe, from gratins and risottos to seasonal salads and soups, it proves its versatility beyond the regular cheeseboard. Comté’s delicious flavour originates from the raw milk of the Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows of the Jura Massif in France, each with its own hectare of land to graze on. The cows eat grass and a wide range of plants and flowers out on the pasture in the summer, and locally harvested hay in the winter, producing high-quality milk and giving Comté its very special taste, scent, colour and texture. Every single day, the milk is brought in from a collection of local farms and transformed into large 40kg wheels of Comté cheese by small village dairies, known as fruitières. These dairies use the skills and expertise of their ancestors to make sure each batch of the cheese is at its most perfect. The wheels are then moved to local ageing caves and cellars, where ‘affineurs’ take care of the wheels of Comté during the ageing process, regularly turning, salting and rubbing each one with brine solution for up to 24+ months. It is down to their experience and expertise to decide when the cheese is ready for consumption. As a result, one piece of Comté might have a firmer texture with a nuttier taste and another might be smoother with a more floral flavour, dependent on several factors such as the altitude the cows were grazing at, the time of year and the skills of the affineur during ageing. Each wheel and bite of Comté is therefore completely unique. No fewer than 83 different flavour profiles in six flavour ‘families’ have been identified in Comté. These flavour profiles are as diverse as walnut, buttered toast, artichoke, leather and vanilla. This lends itself 8

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

promotional feature for Comté

ROASTED HISPI CABBAGE WITH COMTÉ & LEMON By Chef Laura Pope. Photography by Howard Shooter This is my new favourite way to cook these beautiful little pointy cabbages; this method is so easy - especially as you make them in advance to serve at room temperature - and they are delicious served with supper or as an accompaniment to a Sunday roast. Serves 4 Ingredients 120ml light olive oil Zest and juice of 1 large lemon 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 Hispi cabbages (the small, pale green pointy ones with the smooth leaves),

wonderfully to cooking with Comté, as each dish can be truly unique! Comté has been lovingly made for more than ten centuries. Farmers, fruitières and affineurs of the Jura Massif region of Eastern France produce the internationally popular cheese every single day of the year. It has AOC status, meaning it must be made following the traditional rules that generations have been using to create the cheese exclusively in this region, integrating Comté into every aspect of community life.

outer leaves removed and cut into eighths lengthways Leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme 50g mature Comté (18 to 24-month), finely shaved Method 1. Preheat oven to 240℃ (220℃ fan). 2. Mix together the olive oil, lemon zest (not the juice yet!), garlic, ¼ teaspoon fine salt, a few grinds of black pepper and the thyme leaves. Set aside 2 tablespoons and pour the rest over the cabbage in a large bowl, then gently toss well to coat.

3. Arrange the cabbage on two large, lined baking trays and roast in the centre of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden - after 10 minutes, you’ll need to swap the baking trays around so that the cabbage wedges cook evenly. 4. Gently arrange the cabbage on a large serving plate and let it cool for 10 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, add the lemon juice to the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil mix and drizzle it evenly over the cabbage. When you’re ready to serve, scatter over the shavings of Comté. If you would like to stock Comté and enjoy a slice of the potential profits of this unique cheese, head to www.comtecheese.co.uk/are-you-a-cheesereseller/ to contact us, as well as downloading promotional materials to support your sales.

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Pitched somewhere between cheddar and Alpine cheeses, Lincolnshire Poacher has become a modern British classic in the 30 years since its creation. As TOM DALE discovers, its success is a testament to the mantra of continuous improvement followed by brothers Tim and Simon Jones – not to mention their ability to roll with the times.

How the Joneses kept up FOR ONE OF BRITAIN’S older and more well-known farmhouse cheesemakers, striking the right balance between yearround consistency and artisan methods is something that has taken nearly 30 years – and it’s still a work in progress, according to Lincolnshire Poacher’s Tim Jones. When it comes to the flavour in a raw milk cheese like Poacher, the terroir contributes a great deal. But in the UK, a large shift in flavour profile is bound to occur between the summer and winter makes, 10

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

because pasture feeding is not possible throughout the year. To bring the seasonal variations closer together, the Lincolnshire Wolds-based cheesemakers feed their herd of 230 Holstein Friesian cows on a mix of pasture and buffer feed year-round. “When we made our cheese with purely pasture-fed milk, we ended up with this sort of wild flavour that didn’t taste as we thought Lincolnshire Poacher should,” Tim says. “But when we add ration to the feed, we

get more consistency.” This is just one of the many small changes that have contributed to the evolution of the award-winning Alpine-style “cheddar-not-cheddar” we know today. Back in February 1992, Tim’s brother Simon began production on the first batch of a then-nameless cheese in an outbuilding on the fourth-generation family farm. Ulceby Grange Farm had been in the family since 1917, but it wasn’t until the 1960s, when the business was taken over by the Jones

meet the maker

brothers’ father, Richard, that they began dairying. “It’s unheard of in this part of the country,” says Tim, “But dad figured that grass was a good break crop and manure is good for the whole farm.” And, taking this holistic approach to farming proved to be the beginnings of a now-iconic cheese. When Simon Jones returned to the farm in 1988 after attending agricultural college, there “wasn’t much for him to do,” says Tim. In the ’70s, Lye Cross Farm’s John Alvis had told Richard Jones to give cheesemaking a go. “Dad held that thought but never did it, so when the boy came back it was the perfect opportunity,” says Tim. Simon spent two years visiting makers and taking courses before returning to Lincolnshire to start syphoning off 1,000 litres of milk once a week. “I was looking back at some old make sheets and it’s shocking how different the recipe was back then,” Tim says. In the early days, the cheeses were sold at nine months. Now, the youngest are sold at 17-and-a-half months. Tim tells Good Cheese that the amount of packet starter used in production is now around a quarter of what it was in the ’90s, as they now rely more heavily on the raw milk’s natural flora for acidification, slowing the entire process and “allowing the milk to speak more”. The curds are now cut finer, and dried more, leading to a harder, drier cheese – steps which have steered the product away from its cheddar-like beginnings and toward its more Alpine leanings today. “We’re slowing everything down. Initially, the acidification and, as a result, the maturation,” says Tim. “Now, at nine months, our cheese has very little to it flavour-wise. “We’re doing all the things you shouldn’t do in business. Storing more cheese, keeping it for longer and drying it out more. But

we have always stuck by getting the cheese to taste how we want it to taste, and then everything else takes care of itself.” It is a slow and ongoing process. The effect of changes in a make won’t be known until at least a year later and, when using the milk’s natural flora as the primary starter, “you have a moving target all the time,” says Tim, adding: “You just get better at controlling it, and we’re definitely getting more consistent.” If to err is human, then the path to consistency must lie in technology. The Lincolnshire Poacher team has tested this with its latest staff member, a cheeseturning robot named Florence the Machine, and the move is bearing fruit. A formerly arduous job – turning 18,000 20kg cheeses a month, amounting to 360 tonnes – is now done effortlessly through the night, and the new addition is having some other unintended consequences too. To accommodate Florence, the cheesemaker had to swap the trolleys that the truckles were aged on for wooden shelving imported from France. The timber helps regulate the humidity in the cheese store, and, because the new shelves fill the room to the ceiling, airflow is reduced. Before, cheeses on the top shelves dried faster than others, but that issue is now solved. “It is actually a much better cheese store now.” The most consistent aspect of running the business has been the commercial side, though. At least it was until the beginning of 2020. “Our cheese sales have been so consistent for so long – for 10-12 years I can

We’re doing all the things you shouldn’t do in business. Storing more cheese, keeping it for longer and drying it out more.

track it very precisely – and now suddenly the numbers are all miles up on normal. We are just off-the-charts busy.” The change in consumer behaviour brought on by COVID is behind the rise. “People are reassessing their lives, and cheese is a small part of that,” he says. “We’re eating a bit better and shopping a bit better in farm shops, markets or delis, and I think that has endured.” When the pandemic first struck, the outlook was not quite so good. Initially, the

business was faced with pallets of Poacher being returned to the farm, and the buyer for its excess milk pulling out. “We had to either throw it away or turn it into cheese,” says Tim. “So for three months, we made cheese seven days a week, up from five, thinking the world was ending and we weren’t going to need it.” Now, with demand higher than ever, the decision seems prescient. The increased production also offered an opportunity to revive some experimentation in the dairy with some more batches of Poacher 50 – so-called because it was created by accident when a former cheesemaker suffered a lapse in concentration and heated one make to a higher-than-normal 50oC. The Poacher team left the resulting truckles in the maturation room for almost three years but when it impressed visiting buyers from Neal’s Yard Dairy, the cheese was officially christened. Given the uncertainty ahead of them in 2020, the team made this extra-matured cheese three days a week, so you can expect to see more of it in a few years’ time. Although cheesemaking is back down to six days a week now, sales are up 30-40% year-on-year, so the Jones brothers are looking to recruit a fourth cheesemaker to return to pandemic production levels. It’s worth remembering that, as well as several different ages of Poacher, the farm also produces butter and another cheese called Lincolnshire Red. Tim says that because Poacher is a small maker of hard, mature cheeses, he is not worried about a potential future drop in sales. “Our cheese is very forgiving, so we have time. We have months rather than weeks to be reactive if we need.” Having one eye on the future is nothing new in the Jones family business. While many businesses loudly proclaim their environmental credentials with their branding and in the media, Lincolnshire Poacher has been quietly proving that action is more important. The business is a net exporter of electricity thanks to the help of a 275kW wind turbine and 50kW solar set-up. A ground-source heat pump warms the office and packing room, and the vat is heated by a woodchip burner, utilising locally sourced wood. The farm is kind to the soil, too, using no artificial fertilisers, instead fixing nitrogen with clover, and nourishing the soil with the cows’ natural fertiliser. The buffer feed that tops up the herd’s diet is also largely grown on-site. Just as Lincolnshire Poacher quietly rose to the place it holds today in the British artisan cheese world, the company remains reticent about its position at the forefront of ‘green’ cheesemaking. “We don’t make a lot of noise about it,” says Tim, “we just get on and do it. We’re probably missing a trick, but we’re busy making cheese.” lincolnshirepoachercheese.com GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Introducing two new packs

TIME WELL SPENT At Peter’s Yard, we know good things take time. Our sourdough crackers are made from a 45-year-old sourdough starter, fermented for 16 hours before each batch is baked. Crafted without shortcuts or artificial ingredients for award-winning flavour and crunch.

For more information contact Matt@petersyard.com 22

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

country report: France

The state of a cheese nation No nation on earth has the reputation for cheese that France does, but it is still susceptible to the challenges of the modern world. PATRICK McGUIGAN crosses the Channel to discover a country that is seeing plenty of change in both production and retail while still trying to keep its old traditions alive. FRANCE’S CHEESE NUMBERS make for impressive reading. The country is home to almost 1,500 different varieties, 54 of which are protected under EU law. These PDO and PGI jewels in the dairy crown are made by more than 1,200 farmhouse producers and 300 dairies. It would seem that France’s position as the spiritual home of cheese is secure. But the stats don’t tell the whole story. The rise of supermarkets, industrial food production and burdensome hygiene regulations have had a profound impact. Where farmhouse producers and cheesemongers used to be the norm, multinational dairies now dominate, with supermarkets accounting for around 90% of cheese retail sales. According to campaign group Fromages

Because of COVID we have a new generation of professionals who want to be cheesemongers. A lot of people want to change their lives and be more connected with food David Bazergue, Fédération des Fromagers de France

de Terroirs, over 50 traditional French cheeses have disappeared in the past 30 years, while raw milk cheeses account for just 7% of consumption. David Bazergue, director general of cheese retail organisation Fédération des Fromagers de France, estimates there were more than 10,000 cheese shops in France 50 years ago, but at the start of the 21st Century that number had slumped to 2,400. While the situation sounds critical, the fight to save traditional French cheese culture is well underway. “20 years ago cheesemongers said it was the end because of the supermarkets,” says Bazergue. “But this has actually led to the development of new specialised cheese CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

country report: France

shops, which are very professional with specialised products and knowledge.” Key to this evolution has been the development of qualifications, especially the Certificat de Qualification Professionnelle (CQP) – a year-long cheesemonger course mixing classroom work and hands-on experience. In 2015, cheesemongers were also legally recognised as craftspeople – an important and prestigious title, which lead to the creation of a two-year Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) cheese diploma in colleges. Around 380 people take the CQP course each year, which has helped drive up the number of cheese shops to around 3,600, says Bazergue. The pandemic has further boosted interest, with people abandoning corporate careers to pursue a life in cheese. “Because of COVID we have a new generation of professionals who want to be cheesemongers. A lot of people want to change their lives and be more connected with food, agriculture and nature. They want to take more pleasure in their job and life.” A career in cheese is especially tempting thanks to a boom in sales last year, as shoppers re-discovered their local cheesemongers during lockdown when restaurants closed and supermarkets were hard to access. Arnaud Sperat-Czar, founder and editor of cheese magazine Profession Fromager, says concerns about health and the environment have also played a part. “Consumers became more aware and more wary of highly processed foods during the pandemic,” he says. “People want transparency, down to the name of the cow, and local cheese shops are ambassadors of these products. People discovered a need for human contact and nourishing food. When we open the door of a cheese shop, we enter into an immersive experience.” While cheese shop numbers are on the up, the picture for small cheesemakers is less clear-cut. “There’s a lot of consolidation,” says Sperat-Czar. “Overall, we are losing farms, cheesemakers and creameries. There are a lot of ageing farmers that are selling their farms and retiring. It’s difficult to

attract young people. People don’t want to get up at 5am and work from sun up to sun down with no vacation time.” Raw milk cheesemakers are also under pressure because of increased testing and hygiene requirements, according to cheese educator Sue Sturman, a Paris-based American who translates Profession Fromager. “This isn’t the land of raw milk cheese in the way it once was,” she says. “There’s a lot of legislative pressure on cheesemakers who use raw milk. And there are other challenges for farmstead producers, such as complicated inheritance laws if they want to pass the farm onto the next generation, droughts caused by climate change and animal feed cost increases. Farms are getting bigger and animals are being milked more intensively.” There are some positive signs for the future, however, with the COVID crisis once again a blessing in disguise. Increased demand for local foods during lockdown means farmhouse cheesemakers can now make a living from supplying local shops and

Overall, we are losing farms, cheesemakers and creameries. There are a lot of ageing farmers that are selling their farms and retiring. It’s difficult to attract young people

Arnaud Sperat-Czar, editor, Profession Fromager

selling direct at markets – a development that is encouraging new producers to set up. In Brittany, a new generation of cheesemakers has sprung up, many of whom are rooted in organic farming and raw milk, while in Normandy three new raw milk Camembert producers are breathing new life into the PDO. There has also been a wave of urban creameries popping up in French cities. “Enough people want to go back to the land, so there’s a new generation doing really nice things,” explains Emmanuel Carbonne, owner of Parisian cheese shop Au Lait Cru. “Most of these new cheesemakers want a way to live locally, to keep animals and to be themselves.” Other good news for French cheesemakers includes the creation of the Foundation for Cheese Biodiversity – a cross-industry body, founded by SperatCzar, aimed at promoting and defending raw milk cheese. There are also moves among some PDO cheeses to tighten rules to help small producers. The terms of the PDO covering Chabichou du Poitou were changed in 2020

Xavier Cassigneul of Clos de Beaumoncel

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

THE NEXT GENERATION: CHEESE SHOPS COW (Cheeses of the World) Paris A French cheese shop with an international outlook, COW stocks around 60 cheeses from artisan cheesemakers in 15 countries, including the UK, the US and Japan. c-o-w.fr Au Lait Cru Paris Opened in 2019 by 14

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Emmanuel Carbonne, who has previously worked for Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, this cheese shop in the 18th arrondissement specialises in raw milk cheeses, especially from Brittany. aulaitcru.com La Latiterie de Paris Paris Urban dairies are a big trend in

France, but Pierre Coulon’s tiny atelier and shop was one of the first. Cheeses made on-site include lactic chevres, flavoured with yuzu jam or

herbs, and bries sandwiched with truffle or pistachio. The counter also stocks raw milk cheeses from farmhouse producers. facebook.com/ laiteriedeparis Crémerie du Faubourg Montpellier Cécile Broquere and Nina Alaimo gave up respective careers in hospitality and human resources to open this cheese shop in the

centre of Montpellier, which stocks 150 farmhouse cheeses. cremeriedufaubourg.fr Fromagerie Kalou Marseille Specialising in raw milk and farmhouse cheeses, Fromagerie Kalou was opened by Carine Kaloudjian in 2015 after previously working in the agro-food sector. fromageriekalou.com

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country report: France

La Latiterie de Paris 16

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manufacturers play an important role in supporting the market. “Competition is what helps to build the category. It makes all of us stronger and means we can build better relationships with farmers. “A lot of dairy farmers don’t want to transform their milk. We give our farmers long-term contracts with guaranteed prices, so we have good traceability and quality and they can plan for the future.” Back at the Fédération des Fromagers, David Bazergue is also looking to the future. “With COVID we saw a lot of new consumers in our shops and they have been pleased to see the difference between a cheese shop and a supermarket,” he says. “We have earned our place. Now we have to build on that.” fromagersdefrance.com en.professionfromager.com collectiflaitcru.com fromages-de-terroirs.com With special thanks to Sue Sturman for her assistance with translation.

PDOs are very important for people, especially when they are shopping in supermarkets. They are seen as a guarantee of quality

Noemi Richard, Savencia

THE NEXT GENERATION: CHEESEMAKERS Gaec les Deux Laits Savoie Thirty-year-old cheesemaker Caroline Joguet has a herd of 90 goats and 30 cows, which roam the mountains of Arêches. The cow’s milk is sold to make Beaufort, but she turns the goat’s milk into cheeses, including Plancherin d’Arêches – a raw Vacherin-style cheese developed with affineur Hervé Mons. facebook.com/gaeclesdeuxlaits La Laiterie Toulousaine Toulouse An urban dairy in the heart of Toulouse, set up by cheesemaker Anthony Lefebure in 2019. Raw sheep, goat and buffalo milk from local farms, is turned into products including goat’s cheese ‘shots’ and buffalo ‘sucettes’ (lollipops) – fresh cheeses on sticks. lalaiterietoulousaine.fr Clos de Beaumoncel Normandy Stéphanie and Xavier Cassigneul started making Camembert de Normandie PDO this year at the Clos de Beaumoncel dairy in Camembert. Le Trefle D’Auge Camembert is made with raw milk from the couple’s nearby farm. Other new Camembert de Normandie producers include retailer Pierre Coulon (see above), who has bought a previously closed dairy, and Stanislas Rault and Dalida Berritane, who run an organic farm in Instière. Bergerie de Kroaz-Min Brittany One of several new farmhouse cheesemakers in Brittany, Kroaz-Min is owned by Ana-Gaëlle Le Damany and Paul Françoise. The young couple has a flock of 90 Lacaune sheep and are committed to organic, sustainable farming, making bries and fresh cheeses. bergeriedekroazmin.com Gaec Salat Auvergne Farmer and cheesemaker Charlotte Salat used to make Salers, but decided to leave the PDO in 2018 after her cheeses were controversially downgraded by the PDO’s committee in quality taste tests. The 100% Salers milk cheeses are now marketed under the Salat Tradition brand and are sold in some of France’s best cheese shops and restaurants. instagram.com/salat_tradition_fromage

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so that only raw goats’ milk could be used, while a group of small cheesemakers in Provence has secured a PDO for raw milk Brousse du Rove goats’ cheese. “There is a trend with PDOs for moving towards more sustainable, eco-friendly rules,” says Sperat-Czar. “At their heart, they are about terroir and the microbial connection with the farm, and they are starting to recognise this more.” While some PDOs are changing, others are still dominated by large cheesemakers, according to Véronique Richez-Lerouge, head of Fromages de Terroirs. She was a vocal critic of attempts by big dairy companies to change the PDO for Camembert de Normandie to allow pasteurised milk, which ultimately failed in 2020 after a narrow vote against the proposals. “Camembert is safe for now, but Roquefort is catastrophic,” she says. “The cheese is 95% industrial. The market is going two different ways. We have young people making cheeses with the idea of terroir. But there is also industrial cheese, which is strong and getting stronger. It’s a paradox.” She argues that some PDOs have been so damaged by the influence of big dairy that their value has been diminished. “New cheesemakers see there are other ways to sell cheese rather than PDO. It is not on a pedestal anymore.” At dairy group Savencia, which owns brands such as Saint Agur and Le Rustique, as well as PDO cheeses Berthaut Epoisses and Papillon Roquefort, cheese education and product development group manager Noemie Richard argues that PDOs remain a reference point for French consumers. “PDOs are very important for people, especially when they are shopping in supermarkets. They are seen as a guarantee of quality,” she says. A good example of this, she says, is the rise of selection packs in French supermarkets, which focus on regional cheeses. Savencia’s Haute Fromagerie selection, for instance, includes PDO cheeses Maroilles, St Nectaire and Bleu d’Auvergne. Rather than undermining artisan cheesemakers, Richard says that large

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With the pandemic reviving home entertainment, cheese and wine parties are back in vogue. So, Good Cheese decided to revisit and explore this classic combination. PATRICK McGUIGAN assembled a team of experts to taste their way through some of their favourite contemporary matches. Photography by Sean Calitz

The finest of pairs IT’S A MATCH that has stood the test of time, enjoyed by the Romans, Medieval lords and 1980s dinner party guests. And when the pandemic hit and lockdowns were introduced, people hit the bottle and cheeseboard in a big way. With cheese and wine parties fashionable again, it made sense to take another look at how the two can work together – beyond the obvious established matches. The tasting session started with a discussion about what makes the perfect pairing, and there were some surprising views. “I’ve only had a handful of cheese and wine pairings in my life that have been outstanding,” admits cheese consultant Emma 18

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Young. “It’s harder than you think to get the perfect match. “There are basic rules. Making sure there are similar levels of intensity is a good idea. So, a powerful Barolo with a fresh goats’ cheese is probably not going to work, but a sweet wine with lots of acidity and fruit flavours will work with a fruity, boozy blue. It’s about matching complex with complex and simple with simple.” Cheese and wine expert Francis Gimblett takes a similar view. “I tend to pooh-pooh a lot of matches,” he says. “Too much attention is paid to the match rather than allowing each to show its full potential. One must not kill the other.”

The key to success, according to WSET wine educator Julia Lambeth, is to find a link between the two. “It’s about a bridging point of similar flavours in the cheese and wine, but you also need to think about intensity and structure, and how acidity works with fat. Dry whites often work because they cut through the creaminess of cheese.” For cheesemonger Alan Watson, the aim of cheese and wine matching is to elevate both the cheese and wine. “If you get a good pairing then you find something new and the conversation flows. One of the reasons I work in cheese is because complex flavours get people talking.”

cheese and wine matching

MEET THE PANEL Julia Lambeth Wine educator and student experience coordinator at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s London school. Francis Gimblett The owner of event business Taste of the Vine has hosted thousands of wine and cheese tastings. He is also the author of Gimblett’s Guide to the Best of British Cheese.

Breaky Bottom, Brut, Cuvée, 2011 East Sussex, England 12%, Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Golden Cross Sussex, England Raw goats’ milk, soft, mould/yeast-ripened This is an all-Sussex match featuring a sparkling wine with brioche and apple notes, plus the young creamy Sainte-Maure-style Golden Cross. “The wine really highlighted the cheese and emphasised the yoghurty notes,” says Watson. “I was also getting a lovely briny, mossy vibe from the match.” Lambeth picks up on the briny, seaside flavour, too. “On the palate, the wine is savoury with an oyster shell character that really brought the match alive.” Gimblett adds: “Golden Cross can be quite gooey, but that’s about as light and creamy as it gets. There was real elegance to this pairing.”

Alan Watson Head of cheese at The Cheese Bar restaurant and retail group, Watson previously worked for Paxton & Whitfield and La Fromagerie.

J. Lassalle, Brut, Rosé Champagne, Premier Cru, NV Reims, France 12% ABV, 85% Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier Charles Arnaud Mont d’Or PDO Franche-Comté, France Raw cows’ milk, soft, washed rind A salmon-pink Champagne with bright acidity and red berry notes matched with the famous spruce-wrapped, washed rind cheese from the Jura is first up, but fails to wow the panel. “I like the wine and I like the cheese, but I’m not convinced they are doing enough for each other,” says Lambeth. “There are toasty notes in both, but I felt they were too separate.” Gimblett adds that he feels the Mont d’Or is a little young. “The Champagne was lovely and ripe, so it might have worked if the cheese was riper.” Young agrees: “It was all a bit too polite.”

Casa Belfi Bianco Bio Frizzante (NV) Veneto, Italy 10.5%, Glera Stonebeck Yorkshire, England Raw cows’ milk, crumbly, cloth-bound Wensleydale An organic ‘pet nat’, this lightly sparkling white wine has a cloudy appearance and notes of pear and citrus. It is matched with Stonebeck – a farmhouse Wensleydale that sends our panel into rhapsodies. “I absolutely love this cheese,” says Watson. “It’s yoghurt, butter, wet grass and soil. You can taste it’s from a wet, windy farm, but I lost a lot of that with the wine.” Young feels the same. “Incredible cheese, but they brought out a lot of acidity in each other. There were really interesting sage notes in the wine and pea notes in the cheese, but they were lost.”

Chateau Minuty, M de Minuty, Côtes de Provence Rosé, 2020 Provence, France 12.5%, Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah St Jude Suffolk, England Raw cows’ milk, soft, mould/yeast-ripened This juicy rosé from the south of France, full of berry notes fails to stand up against the rich, farmy flavours of the St Jude. Lambeth is disappointed. “I was hoping this was going to be a wild card, but there are more differences than similarities.” The rest of the panel agrees, noting that the cheese overpowers the simple wine. “This is the kind of easy drinker they call ‘glou-glou’ wine in France, but it brought out bitter notes in the cheese,” says Young. “The St Jude had a lot to say,” says Gimblett. “And while the rosé was clean and well made, there wasn’t enough complexity.”

Patrick McGuigan The cheese journalist chaired the discussion. Emma Young Well known as The Cheese Explorer on Instagram, cheese consultant Young has worked for Whole Foods Market UK, Mons Cheesemongers and Gringa Dairy.

I’ve only had a handful of cheese and wine pairings in my life that have been outstanding. It’s harder than you think to get the perfect match.” Emma Young, cheese consultant GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

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cheese and wine matching

Arndorfer Hand Crafted Riesling, 2019 Kamptal, Austria 12%, Riesling Baron Bigod Suffolk, England Raw cows’ milk, soft, mould ripened Would a rich, aromatic Riesling from Austria match up to Britain’s best Brie? The answer sadly is no. Our panel feels the cheese is too young, with a chalky, tangy core that clashes with the richness and floral notes of the wine. “The Riesling has acidity that cuts through the fattiness,” says Lambeth. “It works really well with the gooey layer beneath the rind, but not so much with the heart of the cheese.” Watson agrees: “I found the chalky core brought out the alcohol in the Riesling. Whereas the cabbage notes near the rind worked much better with the wine. I would really like to try this with a fully ripe Bigod.”

The Riesling has acidity that cuts through the fattiness. It works really well with the gooey layer beneath the rind, but not so much with the heart of the cheese.

Château Guiraud ‘G de Guiraud’ 2019, Bordeaux Blanc Bordeaux, France 14%, Organic Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc Onetik Ossau Iraty PDO Pyrénées, France Raw sheep’s milk, hard An intense Ossau needs a wine that can keep pace with it, and this rich, oak-aged 50/50 Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc Bordeaux is up to the job. “There’s complementary nuttiness in both the cheese and the wine,” says Lambeth. “There’s plenty of texture from the Semillon and the oak to stand up to the cheese. It’s a food wine, and the cheese proves it.” “The cheese is very elevated in salt with lots of butterscotch and marmite notes, and the wine is very aromatic” declares Young. “I was initially sceptical, but I’ve gone back several times and it works.” Fattoria de Vaira, Vincenzo Bianco, 2019 Molise, Italy 11%, Organic Falanghina and Trebbiano Baronet Wiltshire, England Pasteurised cows’ milk, soft, washed rind This match – of a rich, Reblochon-style washed rind from Wiltshire and an Italian biodynamic orange wine – provokes a lot of discussion among our experts. Gimblett is a fan of both, but not necessarily together. “Baronet is lovely – ripe, creamy and peanutty – and the wine is quite forthright, but they are not improving each other.” Emma Young is more positive. “They are quite a funky couple. It’s a pleasant pairing without it being the best. I was looking for a bit more.”

It was like reading a great novel in the middle of an opera – hard to appreciate both at the same time. Francis Gimblett

JP Brun, Domaine des Terres Dorees, Morgon, 2018 Beaujolais, France 12%, Gamay Arrigoni Taleggio PDO Bergamo, Italy Raw cows’ milk, soft, washed rind A choice which splits the room, this match pitches the red fruit flavours of Beaujolais with raw milk Taleggio. “It was like reading a great novel in the middle of an opera – hard to appreciate both at the same time,” says Gimblett, arguing that the cheese is too much for the wine. But Watson and Young disagree. “I thought the flavours came back at each other in waves,” says Young.

Julia Lambeth, Wine & Spirit Education Trust GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

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cheese and wine matching

Kanonkop, Kadette Pinotage, 2019 Stellenbosch, South Africa 14%, Pinotage Smoked Quickes Cheddar Devon, England Pasteurised cows’ milk, hard, cloth-bound, smoked A crowd pleaser. Most of the panel agree that this match works on paper, and it delivers in reality. The smokey notes of the Pinotage dovetail nicely with the smoked cheddar in an, but there is a sense that it is too simple. “There’s a jamminess from the wine, which contrasts with the oak chip, tobacco smokiness,” says Lambeth. “It’s not sophisticated, but it works.” Gimblett likes the way the big flavours of both cheese and wine don’t crowd each other, while Young also likes the pairing, but feels it was too simple. Vin Jaune, Domaine Badoz 2013 Côtes du Jura, France 14%, Savagnin Vagne Comté Franche-Comté, France Raw cows’ milk, hard cooked A sweet, nutty Comté from the Jura and a Vin Jaune made in the same region, which had nutty, sherry-like tones, get the judges excited. “I’m not always convinced about terroir pairings,” says Young. “I tried not to like it, but I loved it. A lovely mix of flavours - cereal, walnut, cake, grass.” Lambeth is also a fan. “I loved everything about it. “The wine has nuttiness, honey, caramel notes, which you can pick up in the cheese.”

Carole Bouquet, Sangue d’Oro, Passito di Pantelleria, 2014 Sicily, Italy 14.5%, Muscat of Alexandria Persille du Beuajolais Rhone Alps, France Pasteurised cows’ milk, semi-soft blue Our panel saved the best until last. A lush, figgy dessert wine from Sicily, made with dried Muscat of Alexandria grapes, proves to be the perfect foil for a sweet and salty French blue. Watson is particularly taken with the match. “There’s a beautiful malty, treacle flavour from the wine and a kind of ginger cake finish with the cheese. There’s also a slight farmyard note from the blue, which I really liked.”

Skaramuča Dingač, 2015 Pelješac, Croatia 15%, Plavac Mali Corra Linn Lanarkshire, Scotland Raw sheep’s milk, hard, cloth-bound In Croatia, they drink this dark, tannic red with the aged sheep’s milk cheese Pag, but the panel decided to go with a similar hard, Scottish cheddar-style cheese made with raw sheep’s milk. The roast dinner, lamb-fat flavours coming through in the cheese are deliciously savoury, but at 15% ABV the wine is just a little too powerful. “We are losing some of the elegance of the cheese – the alcohol is just too much,” says Gimblett. Young adds: “They’re dancing next to each other but not together. It’s a bit of a line dance. Not a tango.”

There’s a beautiful malty, treacle flavour from the wine and a kind of ginger cake finish with the cheese. Alan Watson, The Cheese Bar

AND HERE’S THE TOP FIVE MATCHES… 1. Passito di Pantelleria & Persille du Beuajolais 2. Breaky Bottom sparkling wine & Golden Cross 3. Vin Jaune & Comté 4. Morgon & Taleggio 5. Bordeaux Blanc & Ossau-Iraty GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Castile and León

Beneath the rind of Castile and León This region in Spain’s north west is home to several well-known protected cheeses, but dig a little deeper and there are other innovative and unique cheeses to discover ASK A BRITISH CHEESEMONGER to name a cheese from Castile and León and they are likely to mention Valdeón, Zamorano or Castellano. The traditional cheeses, which are protected under EU law, have built a global reputation over many years, but there’s plenty more to discover in the region’s dairies. Tucked away among its mountains, valleys and plateaus are numerous innovative cheesemakers that have created award winning products that capture the terroir and history of Castile and León. Queserías del Tiétar in the south of the region is a good example. Based in La Adrada.in the mountainous Ávila province, the company was first set up by Rafael Báez in 1983 as a retirement hobby after a career in the automative industry in Madrid. The hobby soon became a passion and then a hugely successful business thanks to cheeses, such as the soft, oval log-shaped Monte Enebro (‘mule’s leg’). “Queserias del Tiétar is located on the southern slopes of the Gredos’ mountains in the Tiétar Valley, surrounded by nature - huge pine forests that we can almost reach with our hands, gorges and crystal-clear streams,” says Baez’s daughter Paloma, who runs the business

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today with her sister and brother. “The milk is sourced from dairy farmers located within a 50km radius from our dairy.” The company was one of the pioneers of artisan cheese in Spain in the 1980s, leading the way for a renaissance in small-scale production that continues today in Castile and León. “The number of small producers has increased lately and nowadays there are more professionals supporting high quality produce and following their own cheese tradition from the region they are from,” says Báez. “Farmers have taken advantage of the milk their animals produce in order to get added value from it, processing it into cheese, as the milk market is quite unstable.” It’s not just goats’ milk that Castile and León’s cheesemakers are turning into innovative new products. In Coreses in the Zamora province, the Moralejo brothers, Jose Luis and Juan Angel, saw there was huge potential for sheep’s cheeses. The pair had come from the meat sector, selling lamb across Spain, but in 2006 decided to take a different direction, rearing sheep for milk rather than the table. Today their company, Baltasar Moralejo e Hijos, has a 4,000 strong flock of Assaf breed sheep and makes around 350 tonnes of cheese

a year under the Pagos Los Vivales brand. The hard cheeses, which are made with raw milk, come in a range of different age profiles from the 15-day-old Tierno to Gran Reserva aged for 16 months. The most famous hard sheep’s milk cheese made in Spain is undeniably Manchego, but Moralejo’s cheeses offer something different, according to the company’s commercial manager Jorge Álvarez. “Our cheese is more personal, we can say that it is more artisan,” he says. “It is a raw milk cheese, which gives it properties, textures, aromas and flavours that are much more intense and specific. Another advantage is that, by using only milk from our own livestock, we control the entire process, so the cheese has a frankly remarkable homogeneity throughout the year.” Quesería Valdecabras is another example of the new wave of cheesemakers in Castile and León that are pushing the boundaries of Spanish cheese. Set up in 2008 by Begoña Chozas, who was joined by her brother and sister, the family business does not make PDO or PGI-protected cheeses. Instead, it uses the goats’ milk produced in the Sierra de Gredos mountains in Ávila, where

promotional feature for Castile and León

the company is based, to make innovative cheeses that have gained international recognition. Cheeses such as the hard, raw milk Cured Valdecabras, which is aged for at least two months, and the soft, ash-coated goats’ cheese Miss Capra, which is made in unusual 350g ingot-shaped blocks. Both cheeses have been recognised with prestigious Super Golds at the World Cheese Awards in recent years. “While sheep-rearing is particularly strong in the region of Castile and León, the Ávila area has long been committed to rearing goats, given its geography, along with a climate of relatively gentle winters and hot summers,” says Chozas. “In the area of the Gredos mountains, the goat’s milk has always been used to make cheese. Mostly, fresh cheese that was sold locally and, to some extent, in Madrid as well.” Historically, local goat farmers would make cheese on their mountain farms and bring them down by mule to village markets in the valleys. Today, Valdecabras (which means ‘valley of goats’) works with nine local farms, producing around 80 tonnes of cheese a year, which is sold in Spain, France and the UK. London deli group Bayley & Sage will stock its cheeses from this autumn and Chozas is optimistic for further growth in the future. “We are of the view that it has considerable scope for further

development,” she says. Another company taking cheese in different directions is Cañarejal near Valladolid, which was founded in 1996 by the Santos family, who wanted to add value to the sheep’s milk produced on their farm. The company makes a range of hard cheeses, aged for various lengths of time, but has also developed interesting soft cheeses such as Mantecoso – a semi-soft, mould-ripened sheep’s milk cheese. “Our dairy is next to the farm in Pollos within the Riberas de Castronuño Natural Reserve,” explains Nuria Alonso López from Cañarejal. “Our products are special because we control the feeding of our sheep and we make the cheese with fresh milk. All the elaboration and maturation is done manually.” One of the company’s most innovative and successful products in the UK is Cremoso, an unusual torta-style cheese made with thistle rennet and a white mould rind, which has a remarkable runny texture. The cheese has just been listed by Paxton & Whitfield for its Christmas selection with customers encouraged to slice off the top and dip breadsticks, vegetables or even fruit into the gooey interior. It just goes to show that if you dig beneath the rind, you’ll find the cheeses of Castile and León are full of surprises.

WHERE TO BUY THE CHEESES OF CASTILE AND LEÓN IN THE UK Sabor Zamarano, London www.saborzamorano.co.uk Brindisa, London www.brindisa.com Basco Fine Foods, Yorkshire www.bascofinefoods.com Products From Spain, London www.productsfromspain.co.uk Paxton & Whitfield, Gloucestershire www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk Bayley & Sage, London www.bayley-sage.co.uk

www.queseriavaldecabras.com www.queseriasdeltietar.com www.pagolosvivales.com www.canarejal.es For more information, contact: ice@jcyl.es

THREE OTHER CHEESEMAKERS TO DISCOVER Quesería La Antigua Set up in 2002 in Fuentesaúco, Zamora, Quesería La Antigua makes and sells Zamorano, but has also developed a wide selection of flavoured sheep’s milk cheeses under the La Antigua brand. The range includes hard cheeses aged in lardo, wine or anise and chia seeds, plus jarred cheeses, flavoured with saffron and truffle, and even a soft cheese infused with chocolate. www.queserialaantigua.com

Quesos El Pastor A large cheesemaker based in Polvorosa, Zamora, El Pastor makes Valdeón, Zamorano and Castellano, plus a huge range of other cheeses besides. Its hard, mixed milk cheeses, made with cow, sheep and goat’s milk, have picked up several medals at the World Cheese Awards, as has its Delicas de Cabra – a semi soft goat’s cheese, which is lactic and creamy. www.elpastor.com

Quesos Revilla Another sizeable cheesemaker based in Coreses, Zamora, Revilla has developed range of hard cheeses made with goat or sheep’s milk, plus mixed milk varieties under the Torrecampos brand. It’s Gran Reserva Iberico cheese, made with raw cow, sheep and goat’s milk and aged for at least five months, was awarded a gold medal at the World Cheese Awards in 2018. www.quesosrevilla.com

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Bord Bia – the Irish Food Board congratulates the 8 Irish farmhouse cheesemakers who won stars at this year’s awards. In total, 11 Irish farmhouse cheeses were awarded a Great Taste accolade in cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk cheese categories. For more information on Irish farmhouse cheese, visit: www.bordbia.ie/farmhousecheese

Passion, People, Place and Pasture Irish farmhouse cheese is not just about flavour, it is also about people. Each cheese tells the story of the cheesemaker and the farm where it was made. Irish Farmhouse cheeses are produced across the country yet each cheese is an expression of its own particular part of Ireland. Lush green pastures, intelligent husbandry of livestock and sound farming practices enable the Irish cheese maker to work wonders with some of the highest quality and tastiest milk available in Europe.

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FARMHOUSE CHEESEMAKERS Cheddar that is powerfully intense and complex with an exceptional depth of ﬂavour.

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Making the grass greener Dairy farming has come under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact in recent years but more and more cheesemaking farms in the UK have changed their approach, particularly how they manage their pastures and the diet of their herds. PATRICK McGUIGAN finds out more about the impact these sustainable measure have had.

WHEN YORKSHIRE FARMER Andrew Hattan invested in a herd of Northern Dairy Shorthorn cows to make Wensleydale in 2010, he broke a promise he’d made to himself many years before. Hattan had wanted to be a farmer from a young age. He studied agriculture at Edinburgh University and had a stint as a dairy farm manager. But a subsequent PhD in nutrition and high-yielding dairy cows opened his eyes to the uncomfortable realities of intensive farming. “I found the intensity, in terms of the animal and human perspective, to be overwhelming as an approach to agriculture,” he says. “Milking three times a day is punishing for man and beast. I vowed never again to be involved with dairy cows.” But the reason for the U-turn was that Hattan found a way of doing dairy differently – chiefly making cheese in a lower yielding system that focused on allowing pasture land to recover from grazing. He is part of a growing number of British artisan cheesemakers reassessing how they farm and their impact on the environment,

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while improving the provenance, ‘terroir’ and flavour of their cheeses in the process. Cheshire-maker Appleby’s, Lincolnshire Poacher, Fen Farm Dairy (which makes Baron Bigod) and Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co (Sparkenhoe Red Leicester) are some of the big hitters of British cheese adopting more sustainable farming techniques as part of a movement that is often labelled ‘regenerative farming’. For those in doubt about the environmental effects of dairy farming, Hattan’s PhD discoveries might reframe things. He was particularly disturbed by the amount of energy needed to produce milk. Large amounts of concentrated feed, often shipped from far afield, and home-grown maize and grass silage reliant on oil-based artificial fertilisers were needed to feed the cows, while energy, in the form of methane and heat, was constantly being lost from the system as a by-product of milk production. “Those cows that were producing 50-60 litres of milk a day were generating the heat energy equivalent to a two-bar electric fire going all day every day for 10 months – just

through metabolic heat production. That is one horrendous use of finite resources.” Despite all of this, Hattan was eventually drawn back to dairy after taking on a remote 460-acre hill farm called Low Riggs (25 miles north-west of Harrogate) in 2007 with his wife Sally. After struggling to turn a profit with beef cows and sheep on the inhospitable, marginal land of Upper Nidderdale, the couple decided to reappraise dairy farming. Rather than focusing on a high-input, high-volume system, they went the other direction keeping the herd small and adding value to the milk by turning it into an unpasteurised Wensleydale cheese called Stonebeck. Northern Dairy Shorthorn cows, well-suited to the tough landscape, were key to the project, as was keeping numbers low so the animals were able to get all their nutrition from grass and feed grown on the farm, rather than having to buy it in. Today, the farm milks 24 cows once a day and makes cheese from late spring to early autumn, when the hardy animals graze meadows, pastures and moorland. In the

pastures & regenerative farming

winter, they are housed and fed on homegrown hay and silage. Artificial fertilisers and bought-in feed are rarely required because the farm’s pastures are not overgrazed and are given time to regenerate, aided by the cows’ manure. Each cow only gives around 1,800 litres of milk a year, compared to 10,000 litresplus from a high-yielding Holstein, but the Hattans’ animals live twice as long. The ancient meadows and pastures at Low Riggs are also being restored with an explosion of different plant varieties, which are essential as wildlife habitat and to maintain soil fertility. They are also good for the cheese, which is sold by The Courtyard Dairy and Neal’s Yard Dairy, helping the cows produce rich, creamy milk with a totally unique terroir. “We’re trying to make Wensleydale the way it would have been made in the 1930s,” says Hattan. “Our vision is to revive an arguably extinct British territorial cheese in a sustainable way.” There are number of strategies being deployed across the country by farmers that can all be filed under the ‘regenerative farming’ label. Sowing a wider range of plant species in pastures, (known as herbal leys), planting ‘cover crops’ (to improve soil between harvests) and reducing ploughing to keep carbon locked in the soil are some of the techniques being employed. There are also related moves to reduce the use of fertilisers and feeds, such as soya, as well as introducing renewable energy systems and wildlife schemes. At Bwlchwernen Fawr in West Wales, which makes the cheddar-style cheese Hafod with milk from a herd of 80 Ayrshire cows, owner Patrick Holden has been pioneering sustainable farming practices for more than 40 years. The 300-acre farm, which has been certified organic since 1973, was recently the venue for the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association’s annual meeting with regenerative agriculture a hot topic. “Inevitably more farmer-cheesemakers are going to shift in this direction,” says Holden. “All farms are going to have to or we’re not going to have a habitable planet. It’s an exciting time, but we shouldn’t underestimate how difficult it will be. Farming is about economics, so, if it doesn’t pay, farmers can’t do it. It’s no longer a niche

All farms are going to have to shift in this direction or we’re not going to have a habitable planet. Patrick Holden, Holden Farm Dairy

WHAT’S IN A HERBAL LEY?

issue – it’s got to go mainstream.” No nitrogen fertilisers or herbicides are used at Bwlchwernen Fawr, which comprises permanent pastures, rich in wildflowers, and fields rotated between pasture and arable crops – such as oats and peas – which are fed to the cows during the winter, along with hay and silage cut from the farm. During the summer months, the herd is managed with mobile fencing so the cows can ‘mob graze’ the diverse plant life, before being moved on to pastures new, fertilising the land as they go and giving the land a chance to recover. “Dairy farms have become platforms CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

Rye grass and clover dominate the fields of most dairy farms, but some cheesemaker-farmers are now adding ‘herbal leys’ to their pastures, made up of different grasses, legumes, flowers and herbs. Diverse plant life helps stop soil erosion, fix nitrogen and lock in carbon through complex root structures. There are also extra incentives in farm payments and subsidies dependent on good environmental practice, while the price of nitrogen fertiliser has risen from £85 a tonne in 2000 to over £300 now. Typical plants found in herbal leys include the mineral-rich ribgrass, drought-tolerant herb yarrow and meadow fescue – a grass which is good for hay. Sweet clovers have nitrogenfixing properties while sheep’s parsley is a good source of vitamins for herds. For more information, read Cotswold Seeds’ herbal ley guide.

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Natural ingredients

pastures & regenerative farming

To a conventional farmer, it looks like a bloody mess. But the beauty of the herbal ley is that it forces you into another farming system. Tom Calver, Westcombe Dairy

for the receipt of chemical inputs and vast amounts of unsustainably produced concentrate feeds, and the terroir of cheese has been lost in the process,” says Holden. “For cheese to have a true terroir it has to reflect the unique characteristics of the ecosystem of the farm where it is produced. That’s all about breed of cow, what they’re fed, how much they’re loved and the skills of the farmer and cheesemaker. It’s an alchemy of everything.” The idea of terroir and cheese is also a focus for father-and-son team Richard and Tom Calver at Westcombe Dairy in Somerset. Made up of three farms with two herds of 190 and 160 cows, the family business makes raw-milk, cloth-bound cheddar and has embarked on a journey to adopt more sustainable farming methods, partly because of the environmental benefits, but also in a belief that it will improve milk and cheese quality. To this end, the farm has stopped buying in soya and no longer grows maize for silage. Instead, herbal leys have been sown and the cows are grazed in a similar way to Hafod, while barley and vetch are grown for silage along with cover crops to help naturally fertilise the soil and fix nitrogen. The changes and their impact are being chronicled in a 12-part podcast called The Westcombe Project. “To a conventional farmer, it looks like a bloody mess,” says Tom Calver. “But the beauty of the herbal ley is that it forces you into another farming system. You don’t have to use fertilisers because legumes fix nitrogen. Whatever is happening above ground is also going on underground. All

these messy plants at different heights and sizes will be reflected underground with different root systems. Chicory has a really long tap root that reaches below the sub-soil and draws up minerals. We’ve been sat on these banks of minerals for years, but have never really been farming them.” The farm has invested £70k in new paths to enable the cows to access different parts of the fields without churning up the ground, but this has been offset by a decrease in the use of fertilisers and feed costs, while vets bills have also dropped. Whether the cheese tastes better is hard to say, says Calver. Westcombe Cheddar is aged for around 12 months, so changes on the farms are only just feeding through in the cheese, although there are signs another cheese – the younger Duckett’s Caerphilly – has improved. It has a more supple texture and warmer, creamier flavours, he says. “This year’s cheeses are really good, but I can’t say why for sure,” he says. “Cheesemaking is such a massive equation, we can’t pinpoint changes on just one thing. We’re trying to promote diversity in what we grow. If we’ve got a really decent microbiome in all the foodstuffs we’ve created for the cows, I think that has a positive effect on the microbiome in the milk and on the flavour of the final cheese. “If you’re using three or four monocultures, be it Italian rye grass, a bit of clover, maize and soya from China, then that’s not ‘terroir’. We need diverse plants that get into the subsoil and evolve with climatic changes, and from one season to the next. That is terroir to me. It starts from the soil.”

DOES PASTURE-FED CHEESE TASTE BETTER? The environmental benefits of diverse pastures are well established, but there is also research showing that milk from pasture-fed cows makes better cheese. In 2017, researchers from Teagasc Food Research Centre in Cork, compared the sensory properties of cheddars made with milk from pasture-fed cows and animals kept in indoors in a total mixed ration system. The pasture cheddars were softer and yellower because of increased beta carotene in the fresh grass, and had a much higher concentration of ‘good’ fats, including vaccenic acid and conjugated linoleic acid. There were also differences in the types of flavour volatiles found in the different cheeses. Research involving Cantal, published earlier this year, compared the difference fresh grass, hay and grass-silage made on the sensory qualities of the cheese. It found that cheeses obtained from cows fed fresh grass were clearly yellower and had more intense barnyard and dry fruit flavours. They were also perceived as creamier and having less lactic odour than those from cows fed conserved herbage. Overall, cheese made with milk from grazing cows had the greatest flavour intensity.

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Asturias boasts some 40 varieties of cheese and the region’s capital city Oviedo is the host for the 2021 World Cheese Awards, so Good Cheese set out to discover how cheesemongers and chefs serve up the local delicacies. Photographer and journalist MÒNICA R. GOYA is our guide as we head to northern Spain.

Eat it like a local RICE PUDDING CHEESECAKE Teresa Camacho of Bar Camacho (in Anieves on the outskirts of Oviedo) belongs to the Guisanderas Club, an award-winning association that was created by female cooks in Asturias to preserve the area’s traditional recipes and to celebrate the role women play in protecting local food culture. With such an embedded tradition, cheese appears on local menus in every shape and form – from starters to desserts. At her restaurant, Camacho combines Lazana’s Afinado artisan cheese with rice pudding to make an unforgettably soft cheesecake that melts in the mouth, with a surprising texture thanks to the rice pudding. facebook.com/clubdeguisanderas/ 34

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serving cheese in Asturias

CABRALES SAUCE Most chefs and cooks in Asturias have one, and Teresa Camcho shares her recipe for a classic sauce, made with the famous blue Cabrales and often served with cooked meats. “Warm the 150ml of double cream in a small saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly,” she tells Good Cheese. “Then add 150g of crumbled Cabrales and 30ml of cognac, and cook until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.”

THE CHEESEBOARD “I have fond memories of my grandmother eating blue cheese with apples at home, it’s one of the flavours of my childhood,” explains Aitor Vega, who runs a speciality cheese shop in the town of Langreo, south east of Oviedo. For two decades he has worked tirelessly to support Asturian artisan cheesemakers and this board showcases three of the region’s finest offerings. “La Cueva de Llonín is an elegant cows’ milk cheese that might remind you of Camembert,” he says. “I love to pair it with strawberry jam, cutting it in half and filling it with jam.”

Afuega’l Pitu (with PDO status) is a peculiar-looking orange-hued cows’ milk cheese with strong roots in the central valleys of the region. “I pair it with rye bread as a tribute to those shepherds who had it as their only sustenance while working outside in the fields,” says Aitor. Blue cheeses – including the legendary Cabrales and Gamonéu – are a particular speciality in Asturias, and Vega proposes pairing the lesser-known sheep’s milk La Peral Peralzola with sliced apples – just like his grandmother would have done. 250gramosdequeso.com

DID YOU KNOW? Asturias is smaller than Yorkshire but it boasts some 40 different varieties of cheese, some of which have been made for millennia. The most famous is perhaps the potent blue Cabrales, which has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status – along with the smoky, mixedmilk Gamonéu, the soft Afuega’l Pitu and the disc-shaped Casín.

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vegan cheese

Giz Kumbaraci /Jade NinaSarkhel

Delivering without the dairy?

Jake, Andy & Anne Wigmore and Kayleigh Sheekey

As the demand for dairy-free food increases, vegan cheese alternatives have moved beyond their industrial beginnings into more artisanal territory. NICK BAINES asks whether some of these ‘cheeses’ have earned a place behind the counter and on the board TRADITIONALLY, ANYTHING THAT carried the moniker ‘vegan cheese’ was only found in dusty health shops or tucked away in the supermarkets’ free-from sections. It’s fair to say that these products always lacked the texture, flavour and finesse to really be considered a cheese substitute – but all that has changed in recent years. The health food sector has undergone a vibrant transformation in the last decade and the word ‘wellness’ is being used with wild abandon by marketers across the globe. In tandem with the rapid growth of this sector, dairy-free cheese alternatives have thrived. As demand has increased for these products, so too has the overall quality,

We follow cheesemaking processes. We let it age, we let the cultures and fermentation do their jobs, we let the product develop. Mirko Parmigiani, Palace Culture

Sequence: Production at maker Palace Culture Above left: Shamembert produced by Honestly Tasty GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

vegan cheese

with many producers following traditional cheesemaking methods and directing their efforts towards mimicking the texture, flavour and behaviours of their dairy counterparts. London’s Palace Culture produces a range of vegan ‘cheeses’ made using organic cashew milk. “We make the milk using filtered water,” explains founder Mirko Parmigiani. “Then we add live cultures and allow it to ferment for 24 to 72 hours.” Parmigiani uses penicillium roqueforti for his blue Sacré Bleu, and penicillium Camemberti for his mould-ripened cheese styled on camembert. “We focus on flavour, and try to follow the dairy process as much as possible,” says Parmigiani, who started the business due to his son’s lactose intolerance. “From my point of view, this is something you can call ‘cheese’, because we follow cheesemaking processes. We let it age, we let the cultures and fermentation do their jobs, we let them develop. The only difference is changing the milk.” But it’s the inclusion of milk that is often the contentious point as to whether or not we call these products cheese. While we’re ok with gluten-free pasta still being considered pasta, or pesto keeping its name despite all manner of substitutions in its makeup, it seems we still aren’t comfortable about these plant-based foods taking the title of cheese. In fact, the European Court of Justice banned the use of the word ‘cheese’ for plant-based products in 2017. And some in the dairy industry have pushed for even tighter restrictions since this ban. Not everyone who works in cheese is against the concept of vegan alternatives, though. Robert Marsham, owner of MacFarlane’s Fromagerie in Clapham, says vegan products have suffered from being pigeon-holed.

“Retailers should be focusing on inclusivity,” says Marsham. “It’s not a dairy item and is never going to be cheese, but it’s a substitute for people who have made an informed decision to not eat dairy.” He adds: “We stock around one hundred cheeses. That gives customers an opportunity to taste a vast range of different flavour and texture sensations, so why shouldn’t you include plant-based enjoyment? “I have people here who buy products like Shamembert because they’re curious and want to taste something different. They’re enjoying it because it’s a wonderful food.” Shamembert, produced by Honestly Tasty, and styled on Camembert, this soft, mould-ripened cheese has become a modern benchmark for vegan creations. Founder Mike Moore started the business in 2019 and has seen sales growth of 750% in the past 12 months. “The whole landscape of vegan ‘cheese’ has come a long way in the past 18 months,” says Moore. “We’re in an era where we’re using the maturing process and culturing these plant-based mediums to make this cheese, the same way they’d traditionally culture milk.” “But we’re right at the beginning of this, cheesemaking processes have been developed over hundreds of years, and we are trying to catch up in a relatively short space of time.” Responding to the question of whether we can call these products ‘cheese’, Moore says that language is a funny thing. “I think it’s just the teething pains of people accepting it,” he says. “I think ‘plant-based cheese’ is where it’ll settle as it’s the path of least resistance, I guess.” When Good Cheese asks Michaela Myers, owner of Barney’s Delicatessen in Brighton,

My opinion has changed. Many of these products have the same love and attention to detail in them as any artisan cheese. Michaela Myers, Barney’s Delicatessen

whether vegan cheeses have earned a rightful place on the cheeseboard, her reply is “absolutely”. “At first I was on the side of puritan: it doesn’t contain milk therefore it shouldn’t be called ‘cheese’,” says Myers, who in the past year has seen plant-based cheese grow from 2% of her turnover, to 7%. “But my opinion has changed. Many of these products have the same love and attention to detail in them as any artisan cheese.” It’s clear that many of these products should no longer be considered as just a substitute for their dairy-based cousins. Some might argue they stand as their own category, while others might feel they deserve a spot within the pantheon of cheeses – and become a type of cheese, rather than an alternative. Although its positioning and status will be debated for some time, it’s clear that vegan ‘cheese’ is no longer just the preserve of neglected shelves and niche markets.

FAMOUS FIVE…

Go vegan with these cheese alternatives and decide for yourself. Giz Kumbaraci /Jade NinaSarkhel

Shamembert Honestly Tasty Styled on Camembert, this semi-soft product is infused with truffle oil. honestlytasty.co.uk

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Beer washed / Spruce wrapped Mouse’s Favourite A semi-soft, washed rind product wrapped and aged in spruce. mousesfavourite.com

Sacré Bleu Palace Culture A blue-style gorgonzolalike creation – made in small, sought-after, monthly batches. palaceculture.co.uk

Activated Charcoal Chease Bath Culture House A soft cultured Chease made from organic cashews and dusted with activated charcoal. bathculturehouse.co.uk

Trímma Food by Sumear A Greek-inspired feta-style product made by an exdairy cheesemaker. foodbysumear.co.uk

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The Cheesemakers of Canterbury, home of award winning Kentish cheeses including the award winning Chaucers Camembert.

Ashmore Farmhouse

All our cheeses are available at our retail outlet at The Goods Shed in Canterbury, or through the cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk website, as well as through our wholesalers. Our range includes our first and signature cheese Ashmore Farmhouse, along with Kellys, Gruffs, Canterbury Cobble, Bowyers Brie and of course the award winning Chaucers Camembert.

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Why not visit our website and find out about our handmade cheeses and follow the process from milk through to the presses and the range of award winning cheeses. In addition you can discover our history as cheesemakers and the histor y of Ashmore Cheese.

Lamberhurst Farm, Dargate, Faversham, Kent. ME13 9ES Tel: 01227 751741 - www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk

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accompaniments

Bit on the side... Whether you’re looking to treat the cheese lover in your life or simply to elevate your cheeseboard, this selection should offer some inspiration Celebrating the myths of the oldest mountain range in Wales, Radnor Preserves’ new Cambrian Mountains range contains the brand’s latest offering: Devilish Relish. Named after the Devil’s Bridge and Devil’s Staircase, the fruity mango relish is perfect with toasted cheese sandwiches, says the producer. radnorpreserves.com

Give the gift of garlic with The Garlic Farm’s gift set minis. Containing a selection of three 130g jars of garlic-focused preserves – Roast Garlic Jam, Garlic Jam with Chilli, and Garlic, Onion & Jalapeño Relish – the set is a great cheeseboard accompaniment for any allium afficionados. thegarlicfarm.co.uk

Perfect for those coeliac cheese lovers is Horsham Gingerbread Bakehouse’s latest biscuit offering, Sussex Martlets (175g). These oat and butter biscuits have a short ingredients list containing raw cane sugar, gluten-free oat flour and bran, but, have a complex flavour the producer says best complements Sussex Cheese. horshamgingerbread.co.uk

A great addition to any cheeseboard could be Melrose and Morgan’s newly launched tin of Crackers for Artisan Cheese, containing some of the producer’s most loved crackers: Parmesan & Poppy Seed Rounds, Seeded Spelt Shards and Buttermilk & Thyme Crackers, all packaged in a sleek blue and gold presentation tin. melroseandmorgan.com

New for Christmas from stalwart British cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield is its first English sparkling wine – working with boutique English grower Fox & Fox Mayfield, a new range of four preserves, and a selection of moreish artisan oatcakes for cheese. The nation’s oldest cheesemonger is also bringing out a range of cheese accessories, including Reusable Beeswax Cheese Wraps, a cheese serving stand made with slate and acacia wood, and a branded cheese cloche board. paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

A perfect present for cheese and gin lovers for the coming festive season, this gift box from Cheese Nibbles contains a 50cl bottle of Chilton Liqueurs Seville Orange Gin Liqueur and two tubs of the popular sable biscuits, including the brand’s latest flavour, SunDried Tomato Sables. cheesenibbles.co.uk GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

HANDMADE ON THE FARM Tim Jones Fred W Read and Sons Ltd Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese T: 01507 466987 Drivers Cheese Buyer Guide 21.pdf 1 28/07/2021 10:44 www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com

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Seaweed Oatcakes from the Isle of Lewis www.stagbakeries.co.uk

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accompaniments

Looking for an unconventional cheeseboard accompaniment to impress this festive season? Ireland’s Craic Foods’ new range of pickled fruits could be the answer. Developed using a unique pickling process that retains the structure of the fruits, the pickled Sour Cherries, Blackberries, and Gooseberries are all preserved in complementary flavoured sweet vinegar that enhances the characteristics of the fruit used. RRP £4.45. craicfoods.com

Billed as the perfect accompaniment to any cheeseboard, Rowcliffe’s exclusive brand Clemency Hall has launched a range of antipasti and olives. The new products include marinated mixed vegetables, cherry tomatoes and artichokes, as well as Nocellara Olives from Sicily, and Kalamata Olives from Greece. rowcliffe.co.uk Turophiles will be tempted by Tracklements’ new range of fruit cheeses. Quince Fruit Cheese made from Somerset quince pairs well with hard sheeps’ cheeses, while Damson Fruit Cheese made with Vale of Evesham damsons matches crumbly territorials. Finally, Gooseberry Fruit Cheese made with fruit from the Wye Valley brings out the best in hard, mountain cheeses. These three handmade cheeseboard accompaniments are available in 100g jars with an RRP of £2.95. tracklements.co.uk Bakers of the famous Arran Oatcakes, Wooleys of Arran have been making biscuits for two generations and have recently launched Oaties – a smaller size of oat biscuit designed to be used as a biscuit for cheese. If you’re after extra cheese with your cheese, then the Scottish island bakery’s Cheese Oaties are your thing. RRPs between £2 and £2.50. wooleys.co.uk

Sloane Home’s Ultimate Taste Sensation Hamper (£110) could elevate an after-dinner experience, with a pair of liqueurs – Lone Stag Spirit and Lone Stag Cherry – well matched with cheese, as well as two chefs accompaniments: gin soused raspberries and cherries. The Taste Sensation is topped off with packs of the brand’s handmade Cherry Gin Truffles and Raspberry Gin Truffles. Also included in the gift-wrapped set is tasting notes, and recipe and cocktail cards. sloanehome.co.uk

The more eagle-eyed cheese lovers out there might have spotted some changes on packs of Artisan Biscuits. The Ashbourne-based bakery has begun rebranding and is introducing its Miller’s name – which already appears on the popular Damsels range – as the umbrella brand spanning its line-up of sub-brands. The name already appears on the Mondovino and Grate Britain ranges, with more packaging upgrades to follow over the coming months. artisanbiscuits.co.uk GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

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Raydale Preserves

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where to buy good cheese

Find a UK cheese counter near you EAST ANGLIA CAMBRIDGESHIRE C A Leech & Son Royston leechandsons.com The Gog Cambridge thegog.com The Larder at Burwash Manor Cambridge burwashlarder.com ESSEX H. Gunton Colchester guntons.co.uk The Village Delicatessen Colchester NORFOLK Old Hall Farm Bungay oldhallfarm.co.uk SUFFOLK Friday Street Farm Shop Saxmundham fridaystfarm.co.uk Slate Cheese Aldeburgh slatecheese.co.uk Slate Cheese Southwold slatecheese.co.uk The Grundisburgh Dog Delicatessen Woodbridge grundisburghdog.co.uk

The Black Dog Deli Halesworth blackdogdelihalesworth.co.uk

Buchanan’s Cheesemonger St George’s Fields buchananscheesemonger.com

The Black Dog Deli Walberswick blackdogdeliwalberswick.com

Cheese at Leadenhall City of London cheeseatleadenhall.co.uk

LONDON

Culver + Nelson Richmond culverandnelson.com

Bayley & Sage Battersea bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Belgravia bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Chelsea bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Chiswick bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Clapham Junction bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Fulham bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Parson’s Green bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Wandsworth bayley-sage.co.uk Bayley & Sage Wimbledon Village bayley-sage.co.uk

Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly fortnumandmason.co.uk Giacobazzi’s Delicatessen Hampstead giacobazzis.co.uk Good Food Sydenham goodfood.org.uk Good Food Catford goodfood.org.uk Hamish Johnston Clapham hamishjohnston.com La Fromagerie Bloomsbury lafromagerie.co.uk La Fromagerie Highbury lafromagerie.co.uk La Fromagerie Marylebone lafromagerie.co.uk Laura’s Larder Orpington lauraslarder.co.uk

MacFarlane’s Fromagerie & Fine Foods Clapham macfarlanesdeli.co.uk Panzer’s Delicatessen St John’s Wood panzers.co.uk Parson’s Nose Fulham parsonsnose.co.uk Partridges Chelsea partridges.co.uk Paxton & Whitfield – Jermyn Street Piccadilly paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk Paxton & Whitfield – Cale Street Chelsea paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk Scotch Meats Dulwich scotchmeats.co.uk The De Beauvoir Deli Company Hackney thedebeauvoirdeli.co.uk The Fine Cheese Co. Belgravia finecheese.co.uk The Larder Deli Ladywell thelarderdeli.com The Real Cheese Shop Barnes barnesvillage.com

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

where to buy good cheese

MIDLANDS DERBYSHIRE Croots Farm Shop Duffield croots.co.uk LEICESTERSHIRE Dominic at David North Delicatessen Rothley dominicatdavidnorth.co.uk Lane’s Deli and Fine Foods Lutterworth lanesdeliandfinefoods.co.uk The Melton Cheeseboard Melton Mowbray meltoncheeseboard.co.uk LINCOLNSHIRE The Cheese Society Lincoln thecheesesociety.co.uk NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Delilah Fine Foods Nottingham delilahfinefoods.co.uk Gonalston Farm Shop Nottingham gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk SHROPSHIRE Apley Farm Shop Shifnal apleyfarmshop.co.uk Broad Bean Ludlow broad-bean.com Ludlow Farmshop Ludlow ludlowfarmshop.co.uk STAFFORDSHIRE The Cheese Station Burton-on-Trent thecheesestation.co.uk WARWICKSHIRE Aubrey Allen Leamington Spa aubreyallenleamington.co.uk

Cheese on the Green Rugby cheeseonthegreen.com

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Stratford Garden Centre Stratford Upon Avon stratfordgardencentre.co.uk The Farm Stratford-upon-Avon thefarmstratford.com WORCESTERSHIRE Load Street Deli Bewdley loadstreetdeli.com

Pioneer Foodstore Harrington pioneerfoodstore.co.uk/ harrington/ The Cheese Delicatessen Keswick Keswick keswickcheesedeli.co.uk

THE NORTH

The Chopping Block Penrith thechoppingblockpenrith.com

CHESHIRE Godfrey C. Williams & Son Sandbach godfreycwilliams.co.uk

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE Apron Strings Culinary Studio Hedon apronstrings.uk

The Lambing Shed Farm Shop & Café Knutsford thelambingshed.com

Drewton’s Near Brough drewtons.co.uk

Willow Cottage at Applegates Chester willowcottagefarmshop.com County Durham Samuel James Deli Cafe Barnard Castle samueljamesdelicafe.co.uk CUMBRIA Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall Penrith cranstons.net Cranstons Orton Grange Food Hall Nr. Carlisle cranstons.net Cranstons Carlisle Food Hall Carlisle cranstons.net Cranstons Brampton Food Hall Brampton cranstons.net

Hunters of Helmsley Helmsley huntersofhelmsley.com Lewis & Cooper Northallerton lewisandcooper.co.uk Love Cheese York lovecheese.co.uk The Cheeseboard - Harrogate Harrogate thecheeseboard.net The Courtyard Dairy Settle thecourtyarddairy.co.uk The Deli at no 85 Skelton-in-Cleveland

The Pickled Fig Hessle thepickledfig.co.uk

The Whitby Deli Whitby thewhitbydeli.co.uk

GREATER MANCHESTER Albion Farm Shop Oldham albionfarmshop.co.uk

Town End Farm Shop Skipton townendfarmshop.co.uk

The Cheese Hamlet Didsbury, Manchester cheesehamlet.co.uk

NORTHUMBERLAND Tully’s of Rothbury Rothbury rothburydeli.co.uk

MERSEYSIDE Gillions of Crosby Crosby gillionsofcrosby.co.uk

SOUTH YORKSHIRE The Silverhill Larder Sheffield silverhilllarder.co.uk

The Deli at 40A Newton-le-Willows facebook.com/thedeliat40a/

TYNE & WEAR The Blagdon Farm Shop Newcastle-upon-Tyne theblagdonfarmshop.co.uk

NORTH YORKSHIRE Aldred’s Fine Cheese Scarborough aldredsfinecheese.co.uk

Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop Kendal lowsizerghbarn.co.uk

Beadlam Grange Farm Shop York beadlamgrange.co.uk

Pioneer Foods Carlisle pioneerfoodstore.co.uk

Fodder Harrogate fodder.co.uk

The Deli Around the Corner North Shields thedeliaroundthecorner.co.uk WEST YORKSHIRE Blacker Hall Farm Shop Wakefield blackerhallfarmshop.co.uk Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers Castleford cryerandstott.co.uk

Kentish Handmade Cheese A traditional unpasteurised, cloth bound cellar matured hard cheese from the county of Kent.

One of the most local farm produced cheeses to London One of the most local farm produced cheeses to London and soon achieving carbon neutral production. and now carbon neutrally produced.

www.winterdale.co.uk +44 (0)1732 820021 Winterdale, Platt House Lane, Wrotham, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 7LX

For 40 years our family farm has been making cheese on the Isle of Mull. We combine raw milk from our own dairy cows, with traditional cheesemaking techniques; harnessing sustainable energy from the island elements to make our Isle of Mull cheddar & Hebridean Blue.

ISLEOFMULLCHEESE.CO.UK

ISLE OF MULL

HEBRIDEAN BLUE ISLE OF MULL

FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

The Kaltbach Cave Expertise: Our cheeses are aged in a 22-million year old sandstone cave in Switzerland where our cavemasters have been refining cheese for more than 60 years. Natural Climate: Rainwater seeps into the layered rocks keeping the cave climate constant at the exact humidity and temperature required for aging cheese. Trusted Brand: The Kaltbach brand gives consumers a trusted and recognisable family of Swiss cheeses to explore. For more information on our Kaltbach range of cheese and where to find them go to www.emmi-kaltbach.com/international or email info.uk@emmi.com

where to buy good cheese

Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers Pontefract cryerandstott.co.uk Craggies Farm Shop Hebden Bridge craggiesfarmshop.uk Farmer Copleys Pontefract farmercopleys.co.uk George & Joseph Cheesemongers Leeds georgeandjoseph.co.uk Hinchliffe’s Farm Shop Netherton, Huddersfield hinchliffes.com Origin Fine Foods Bradford originfinefoods.co.uk The Artisan Cheese Company Wetherby artisancheese.co

SOUTH EAST BERKSHIRE Cheese Etc – The Pangbourne Cheese Shop Pangbourne, Reading cheese-etc.co.uk Cobbs Farm Shop & Kitchen Hungerford cobbsfarmshops.co.uk Cobbs Farm Shop & Kitchen Englefield cobbsfarmshops.co.uk Cobbs at Manydown Basingstoke cobbsfarmshops.co.uk Tastes Delicatessen Windsor tastesdeli.co.uk The Grumpy Goat Reading thegrumpygoat.co.uk

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Hambleden Village Stores Hambleden, Henley-on-Thames facebook.com/ hambledenvillagestores/ The Farm Deli Milton Keynes thefarmdeli.com EAST SUSSEX Cheese & Delicatessen Bexhill-on-Sea Cheese Please Lewes cheesepleaselewes.co.uk Eggs To Apples Farm Shop Etchingham eggstoapples.co.uk Shearer’s Fine Foods Forest Row shearersfinefoods.co.uk HAMPSHIRE Cobbs Farm Shop & Kitchen Headbourne Worthy, Winchester cobbsfarmshops.co.uk Cork & Cheese Southampton thecorkandcheese.co.uk Hockey’s Farm Shop Fordingbridge hockeys-farm.co.uk Mange2 Deli Alresford mange2.co.uk The Sett Brockenhurst thesettbrockenhurst.co.uk Thyme & Tides Stockbridge thymeandtidesdeli.co.uk HERTFORDSHIRE Bury Lane Farm Shop Royston burylanefarmshop.co.uk French & Day Delicatessen Ware frenchandday.co.uk

Halsey’s Deli Hitchin halseysdeli.co.uk The Fleetville Larder St Albans fleetvillelarder.com Falconhurst Edenbridge falconhurst.co.uk Holwood Farm Shop Keston holwoodfarm.co.uk Macknade Fine Foods Ashford macknade.com/elwick-place

WEST SUSSEX Cowdray Farm Shop Midhurst cowdrayfarmshop.co.uk Pallant of Arundel Arundel pallantofarundel.co.uk Rushfields Farm Shop Brighton rushfields.com The Hungry Guest Chichester thehungryguest.com The Hungry Guest Petworth thehungryguest.com/cafe-shop/ foodshop/

Macknade Fine Foods Faversham macknade.com

SOUTH WEST

The Cheese Shop, Tunbridge Wells Tunbridge Wells thecheeseshoptw.co.uk

CORNWALL Bellinis Deli Kitchen Bude bellinisdelikitchen.co.uk

Added Ingredients Abingdon addedingredients.co.uk

Relish Food & Drink Wadebridge relishcornwall.co.uk

Blue Tin Produce Wallingford bluetinproduce.co.uk

DEVON Johns of Instow and Appledore Instow johnsofinstow.co.uk

Pickle & Lime Oxford pickleandlime.co.uk The Granary Delicatessen Watlington granarydeli.co.uk SURREY HolmeStores Dorking holmestores.com

Quickes Traditional Near Exeter www.quickes.co.uk The Ashburton Delicatessen Ashburton ashburtondelicatessen.co.uk The Cheeseboard – Sidmouth Sidmouth cheeseboardsidmouth.com

Priory Farm Estate Redhill prioryfarm.co.uk

Wildmoor Fine Food & Drink Bovey Tracey wildmoor-deli.co.uk

Secretts Farm Shop Milford, Godalming secretts.co.uk

DORSET Quaff and Tipple Bournemouth quaffandtipple.com GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

where to buy good cheese

The Pear Tree Delicatessen Sherborne peartreedeli.co.uk

Thorner’s of Somerset Shepton Mallet jonthorners.co.uk

The Cheese Lady Haddington thecheeselady.co.uk

Trencherman’s of Dorset Sherborne trenchermans.com

WILTSHIRE Aldbourne Stores Marlborough facebook.com/ AldbourneStores/

EDINBURGH Craigie’s Farm South Queensferry craigies.co.uk

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Daylesford Organic Nr. Kingham daylesford.com Food Fanatics Cheltenham food-fanatics.co.uk Forest Deli Coleford forest-deli.co.uk Melanie’s Kitchen Downend, nr Bristol facebook.com/ melskitchendownend/ Teddington Stores Teddington www.teddingtonstores.co.uk The Cheeseworks Cheltenham thecheeseworks.co.uk The Cotswold Cheese Co. Moreton-in-Marsh cotswoldcheesecompany.co.uk The Cotswold Cheese Co. Stow-on-the-Wold cotswoldcheesecompany.co.uk SOMERSET Docky’s Delicatessen Radstock dockys.co.uk Paxton & Whitfield Bath paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk Queen Street Delicatessen Wells queenstreetdeli.co.uk The Fine Cheese Co. Bath finecheese.co.uk 52

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Allington Farm Shop Chippenham allingtonfarmshop.co.uk Bloomfields Fine Food – Highworth Swindon bloomfieldsfinefood.co.uk Bloomfields Fine Food Shrivenham Swindon bloomfieldsfinefood.co.uk Compton McRae Semley comptonmcrae.com Mauls Wine & Cheese Bar Salisbury maulswinebar.com Stourhead Farm Shop Warminster stourhead.com Walter Rose & Son Devizes walterroseandson.co.uk

SCOTLAND ABERDEENSHIRE Food for Thought Turriff foodforthoughtdeli.co.uk DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY The Dumfries Larder Dumfries facebook.com/ thedumfrieslarder/ EAST LOTHIAN Farm Shop & Cafe At The Mart East Linton martfarmshop.co.uk

Hopetoun Farm Shop Newton hopetoun.co.uk/farm-shop/ FIFE Elie Deli Leven eliedeli.co.uk HIGHLANDS Connage Highland Dairy Inverness connage.co.uk Corner on the Square Beauly corneronthesquare.co.uk PERTH & KINROSS Hansen’s Kitchen Crieff hansenskitchen.com McNee’s Delicatessen Crieff mcneesofcrieff.co.uk Provender Brown Perth provenderbrown.co.uk The House of Bruar Pitlochry houseofbruar.com/food-hall SCOTTISH BORDERS The Country Kitchen Deli Roxburghshire countrykitchendeli.co.uk The Mainstreet Trading Company Melrose mainstreetbooks.co.uk STIRLING Deli Ecosse Callander deliecosse.co.uk

WESTERN ISLES The Good Food Boutique Stornoway thegoodfoodboutique.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND ANTRIM Four Seasons Cherry Valley Belfast thefourseasonsni.co.uk DOWN McCartney’s of Moira Craigavon mccartneysofmoira.com

WALES DENBIGHSHIRE Porter’s Delicatessen Llangollen portersdeli.co.uk Rhug Organic Farm Corwen rhug.co.uk The Deli on the Hill Prestatyn thedelionthehill.co.uk FLINTSHIRE Hawarden Estate Farm Shop Deeside hawardenestate.co.uk GLAMORGAN Wally’s Delicatessen Cardiff wallysdeli.co.uk GWYNEDD Blas Ar Fwyd Cyf Llanrwst blasarfwyd.com PEMBROKESHIRE The Gourmet Pig Fishguard gourmetpig.co.uk

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www.montgomeryscheese.co.uk

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Oatcakes with REAL Flavour!

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GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

For the finest cheeses in the world, it’s the Nº1 choice RADNORPRESERVES.COM RP_GOOD_CHEESE_GUIDE_21_2.indd 1

19/10/2021 13:52

Exceptional artisan produce made in the United Kingdom

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Discover a selection of authentic and traditional French cheeses

For more cheese inspiration, go to: www.thecheeselover.co.uk

Clemency Hall

Expertly Hand Crafted Cheese

Hand Crafted Fine Foods

Bring quality, value and exclusive cheeses to your counter, all while keeping it independent. Rowcliffe’s very own Clemency Hall artisan range is precision cut for you and carefully packaged into deli-friendly sizes.

www.rowcliffe.co.uk

GOOD CHEESE 2021-22

Good Cheese 2021-22

Articles inside

HOW THEY SERVE IT IN ASTURIAS

COUNTRY FOCUS: FRANCE

COUNTER CULTURE

TASTING: CHEESE & WINE

MEET THE MAKER: LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER

REGENERATIVE FARMING

ACCOMPANIMENTS