Food & Drink
Blessed are the cheesemakers who By Steve Keenan
newsdesk@blackmorevale.net
Britain’s champion cheesemakers are planning a post-covid comeback in 2021, with new cheeses and plans to throw open the doors of their Blackmore Vale cheese farm to visitors. Marcus Fergusson and Penny Nagle gained international recognition when their Renegade Monk cheese was crowned Supreme Champion at the 2020 Virtual Cheese Awards in July. But it came in the middle of a rollercoaster year. The couple had completed a new cheesemaking shed in February and getting the taste right in its new home was a struggle. Also, unlike cheddars which last for 12 months or more, Renegade Monk takes a month to mature – then has a shelf life of just eight weeks. So when two lockdowns decimated business in March and November, the couple ended up feeding hundreds of the cheeses to their Oxford and Sandy pigs. “In the first lockdown, we had 2,000 cheeses in storage. We reduced prices and we cut down on production but we still had 300 left over which went to the pigs,” said Marcus. “The award in July was a lifesaver because we had a new audience. We started making as much as we could,
SAY CHEESE: Marcus Ferguson and Penny Nagle and, inset, their award-winning Renegade Monk
up to 600 cheeses a week. Then came the second lockdown, we had 1,500 cheeses on the shelves and our wholesalers weren’t ordering.” The couple stopped production in early November but thanks to a late Christmas flurry, managed to shift their last cheese on December 10. The pigs also had an early Christmas present. Now they are carefully planning for 2021, in what is a traditionally quiet time for cheese. “People don’t buy cheese in January, so we’ve never made cheese in December. We normally start again about now – but this year, we’ll wait a bit to find out what’s happening in lockdown.”
Meanwhile, a cheese visitor centre is being finished at home in Feltham’s Farm, Horsington, which is planned to host Cheese Experience tours from April. (See below.) There will be the chance to taste Renegade Monk, which is made from organic pasteurised cow’s milk from Gould’s Farm, just two fields away. As the cheese matures the set curd is also washed in Hop Drop pale ale from Stroud Brewery. “We are surrounded by some of the best cheddar makers, so there was no point in making a traditional cheese,” said Marcus, who began making cheese in 2016. “I am a lover of French cheese, the stinking, dirty cheese you get in markets. I wanted a
washed rind cheese, in beer. And then throw some blue in it. A blue washed rind hadn’t been done before.” Described as Britain’s strongest cheese, three Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe began ordering it after the award, and wholesalers now account for 70 per cent of national and international sales. The name of the cheese is a nod to nearby Templecombe, where Knights Templar monks once held court. A sister cheese, Rebel Nun, is also made, a much bluer and milder cheese, like a Rocquefort. The latest addition is La Fresca Margarita, described by Marcus as “a savoury icecream.” It’s a lemony, light cheese, best eaten in the first
Make a date in your diary to take tour of the dairy The Cheese Experience tours of Feltham’s Farm & Cheese facility are available from April 1, subject to covid-19. Dates will usually be midweek, with a Saturday subject to demand. There are three tour options, from one hour to a full threeand-a-half hours. All start at 36
11am. From delivery of raw milk to moulding is explained, with the basics of cheese making from Marcus, a tour of the animals and organic veg systems and an option to buy cheese. The longer tours include cheese tastings and cheese goodie bags (worth £20),
with the full tour adding a ham, cheese tart and salad lunch with local ale, wine or cider. Prices range from £15 - £50 per person, with a maximum of four people in each group. Full PPE gear is provided. Fairtrade, organic Feltham’s Farm T shirts are on sale for
£20 (£15 if you buy any Cheese Experience tours). Blackmore Vale Magazine readers receive £5 off a tour if booked before April 1. Call 01963 370857 or email penny@felthamsfarm.com and quote Blackmore Vale, or book online at felthamsfarm.com.
