Mac’n’cheese challenge: best use of artisanal cheese

While it’s always fun to invent a new recipe I thought it would be good to have a category which encouraged you all to use British artisanal cheeses. There was of course some overlap - some of you mentioned specific cheeses in your entries for best original recipe - and some made good use of cheeses outside the UK but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Interestingly Neal’s Yard proved to be the favourite place to source your cheeses and Montgomery's Cheddar the most frequently featured cheese:


Donna D combined it with Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire in her blog My Fitness Year. (Not that mac'n'cheese immediately strikes you as part of a healthy eating regime but as Donna says, moderation in all things!)

Ms MarmiteLover offers the alternative of Green's of Glastonbury cheddar or Montgomery for her classic version which she says is "perfect for sitting in front of the telly watching something a bit crap like 'I'm a celebrity' or 'Big Brother'. It's great duvet food."


Sig of Scandilicious combined Montgomery with Wensleydale, Gorwydd Caerphilly and Stichelton in her ingenious version (above) which employed crème fraîche rather than having to make a cheese sauce. (Nice pix of the individual cheeses too.)


Sharmila of Sharmila on Food opted for Montgomery’s Cheddar, Ogleshield and Isle of Mull Cheddar for what she said "resulted in the most wondrous cheese sauce", capped by a few drops of white truffle oil.


And Scott of Scott Can Cook seems to have single-handedly kept Neal's Yard in business with his researches into different cheeses - again ending up with a Mac and Montgomery cheddar version.


In fact James of The Cotswold Food Year was the only one not to use Montgomery coming up instead with his wickedly indulgent Truffled Macaroni Bries. (Before you oject, as I did, he points out that he did in fact use St. Eadburgh, a Camembert-style cheese from Gorsehill Abbey Farm. He just liked the play on words of Macaroni Bries ;-)

This category will be judged by Jess Trethowan of Trethowans Dairy who are donating a gift box of artisanal cheeses to the winner.