THE GUIDE TO GREAT BRITISH DESSERTS

Created as Bakewell Pudding in the 19th century by the landlady of the White Horse Inn in this Derbyshire market town. We are still dining out on the combination of morello cherries and almond oil.

Supposedly brought to England in the 1940s by the Canadian Air Force. We are still saluting the combination of toffee pieces and chopped dates that has taken British puddings to a new height.

Rhubarb, a vegetable, was first forced in the 1840s, and then it caught on as a ‘fruit’ for crumbles. We continue to appreciate how sweetly the rhubarb pieces and juice and vanilla come together.

FALCO BONFADINI, co-founder and owner of Galeria do Queijo, São Paulo

I got into cheese by chance. I worked in the military and my wife was a teacher. One day at a trade fair, we saw a stall selling cheese and I was intrigued. When a space opened up at this indoor market, I jumped at the opportunity. There was always plenty of footfall, so if we couldn’t sell cheese here we couldn’t sell it anywhere. When we first o ened the sho years ago it was tiny, and we’d go to wholesalers and trans ort the cheese in bags on the bus.

Initially we only sold industrial cheese. It’s all anyone wanted. But around 10 years ago, people started asking for Canastra, a historic cheese from Minas Gerais. Brazilian laws made it incredibly hard to sell artisan cheese but I saw a couple of other shops around town doing it, so we gave it a go.

It was tough to begin with. Most people come for mass-produced mozzarella, fresh cheese or cream cheese. Our challenge was to sell something they weren’t looking for. Many ra ilians find the taste of goats’ cheese strange and washed rind or blue cheeses too strong. People would return a reblochon-style cheese because they opened it at home and it was too smelly.

Ca im Canastra was the first artisan cheese we sold, and in it became the first ra ilian cheese to win a medal outside Brazil, at the Mondial du Fromage in France. Since then things sales of artisan cheese have grown steadily. Nevertheless, industrial cheese still makes up a large chunk of our sales, and European cheeses are still seen as premium. Recently a lady came in asking for French brie. I said we only have Président, but there’s a brilliant version made in o aulo. er mind was set on the rench one.

Change is being driven by young people. They come in with a broad mentality, having travelled around the world. They want to know where their food is from and how the animal is treated. They’re helping us grow. In the past few years, we’ve built a deck for cheese-tasting and the sho -front has doubled in si e.

Legislation is still one of the biggest stumbling blocks, with health inspections making selling cheese from around the country a challenge. We’re not allowed to age cheese in the shop, although I hope we will be able to soon. All the cheese has to be wrapped in plastic.

Being a huge country, the logistics of getting cheese from, say, the north of the country can be tricky. Financially, it’s a challenge, but I love what do. sn’t that great

IF YOU’VE WORKED in the sector for a while, you’ve probably encountered Marcus Carter of the Artisan Food Club. It’s always informative, loud and very rewarding to bump into him. What’s more he’s always constructive with his opinions and doesn’t moan about governments and Brexit, like I do.

Marcus joined us at the Guild for one of our 90-or-so Great Taste judging days recently and, in the pre-tasting schmooze, he grabbed me for a natter about an article he’d written in his weekly newsletter.

The synopsis was that many delis and farm shops fail to

Independent retailers: what are your best-selling brands of 2023?

e would li e to find out how business has been so far this year and to hear what your best-selling lines have been.

The survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete and you will be helping the independent food retail sector, uncovering invaluable data that will support the whole fine food industr Results will be published alongside Fine Food Digest in the autumn.

On com letion, lease leave your name, email address, business name and postcode. As an additional thank you for your time, you will also be added into a prize draw for a free annual membership to the Guild of Fine Food. bit.ly/BestBrands2023