Business

SAY CHEESE: Marcus Fergusson and Penny Nagle with their award-winning produce. Above right, the cheese that proved a hit with judges and right, a mouthwatering cheese hamper Cheese sweeps the board!

By Miranda Robertson

A Spanish-inspired fresh cheese made in Templecombe has taken the crown as Britain’s Best Cheese at the Virtual Cheese Awards 2021. Marcus Fergusson and Penny Nagle started making cheese at Feltham’s Farm in 2017, having always been passionate about food – cheese in particular. Feltham’s Farm is an organic smallholding which aims to be as sustainable as possible. It runs on 40KW of solar panels and ground source heat, while all local deliveries are made in a 100% electric van. Oxford sandy & black pigs eat all the whey produced (making a very sweet parma-like ham) so there is minimum waste. The Virtual Cheese Awards launched last year to support and promote British cheesemakers during the first lockdown. Although the 2020 awards were organised very quickly, they still attracted over 300 entries and all the profits from the event were donated to support cheesemakers and farming charities. Feltham’s Farm’s Renegade Monk cheese took the top prize as a soft, blue, rind washed cheese. This year, judges included Adrian Boswell, Selfridge’s senior fresh food buyer, Dhruv Baker of Tempus Foods, Tracey Colley, Director Academy of Cheese and Chris Dawson, Marks & Spencer’s cheese buyer. They tasted the entries blind to decide on awards including Best Cheddar, Best Artisan Hard and Best Territorial cheese. Marcus and Penny again beat hundreds of entries to scoop Best British Cheese – this time with La Fresca Margarita, a fresh white cheese developed and launched during lockdown. La Fresca Margarita is a “queso fresco” (fresh cheese) made with pasteurised cow’s milk. Inspired by the pair’s travels in Latin America and Spain. Penny said: “Margarita is Spanish for daisy, which grows in abundance on our marsh meadow, and this is very much a fresh daisy best eaten within a week or two of make.” Marcus said: “We are completely blown away by this win. La Fresca Margarita is a lovely queso fresco we developed over lockdown as a counterbalance to our pungent washed rind cheeses. We loved how it engaged the judges. There’s nothing like being able to see your cheese tasted blind by experts in front of everyone…” Awards founder Sarah de Wit said: “La Fresca Margarita was a worthy winner of this year’s Virtual Cheese Awards and consistently blew the judges away with its fresh melt-in-themouth flavour and citrus notes. It’s a beautiful example of a fresh cheese and the fact that the team at Feltham’s Farm only developed and launched this cheese in the Covid-19 pandemic, is testament to their superior cheesemaking skills.”

New award for resilience in tourism gongs 21/22

The 2021/22 Dorset Tourism Awards are now open and businesses from across the county are invited to submit their entries. The awards, now in their 9th year, cover all of Dorset and offer businesses the chance to win not just locally, but to progress on to the regional South West awards and – for matching categories – the national VisitEngland awards. There is a new award for Resilience and Innovation, as well as opportunities to submit entries for unsung heroes, new businesses, dog friendly, accessibility and sustainability. The awards are free to enter as they are supported by many sponsors and partners. Full details are at dorsettourismawards.org.uk