Meeting some of Britain's best cheesemakers

Yesterday I went to Bath to check out the Fine Cheese Co’s Cheese Festival in Milsom Place, an opportunity to meet and buy cheeses from 14 of the best artisanal cheesemakers in the country. The Fine Cheese Co, which is run by Anne-Marie Dyas, is always a step ahead of the game: it was one of the first to sell cheese online, and to come up with matching biscuits and condiments for cheese which are still hard to beat for quality.



There were quite a few cheesemakers whose cheeses I was already familiar with such as Keen’s Cheddar, Bath Soft Cheese, White Lake, Sharpham, Ticklemore and Charlie Westhead of Neal’s Yard Creamery (above) but it was good to meet one of my heroes, Mary Holbrook of Sleight Farm, in person (top of the page) and taste right through her range.



I also got to meet Suzanne Stirke of Fortmayne Dairy in North Yorkshire (above) who makes Richard III, a fine traditional style of Wensleydale (and hope I've managed to persuade her to go on Twitter!).



And I discovered a lovely unpasteurised Red Leicester from David and Jo Clarke of the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. The cheese hasn’t been made in the county for 20 years and not on a farm in the county for over half a century.

The event really underlined what magnificent cheeses we have in this country. I hope it's something the Fine Cheese Co. will sponsor every year.

Events for fellow cheeselovers

The end of September/beginning of October always seems to be the highlight of the cheeselover's year with the results of the British Cheese Awards, The Great British Cheese Festival which this year is being held in Cardiff Castle (see above, sculpted in cheese and also on YouTube) and British Cheese Week. This runs from September 27th to October 5th and will be celebrated in cheese shops and delis all over the country.

Juliet Harbutt who set up the Cheese Awards and Alex James (ex-bass player of Blur, now a food writer and farmer) who have collaborated on a cheese called Little Wallop will also be holding a series of 'Cheesy Rider' masterclasses and dinners at three venues round the country on the dates below:

Tuesday 30th September 2008
Dinner @ Lords of the Manor Hotel, Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire
Starts 7pm until 11pm. Tickets £65 each. Call 01451 820 243

Thursday 2nd October 2008
Dinner @ Wensleydale Dairy, Wensleydale, Yorkshire
Starts 7pm until 11pm. Tickets £37.50 each. Call 01969 667 664

Friday 3rd October 2008
Dinner @ Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne (AA Hotel of the Year 2008/2009)
Starts 7pm until 11pm. Tickets £55 each. Call 0191 212 3000

There will also be plenty of opportunity to taste cheese at the various food festivals which are taking place over the next few weeks such as the Abergavenny Food Festival which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend and the 10 day York Food Festival which starts on Friday.

And I'm off to Dublin at the end of the month to help judge the World Cheese Awards which are taking place in Ireland for the first time.

Should be a great couple of weeks! I'll report back on what I find, starting in Abergavenny this Sunday . . .