WELCOME
W
what’s inside 25
31 15
37 41 Counter culture
5
News from the world of cheese.
Working with cheese
10
Patrick McGuigan tracks down the new generation of cheesemakers, retailers, restaurateurs, graders and affineurs
Profile: The Cheese Society
15
We meet online cheese shop pioneer Kate O’Meara
Brexit cheeseboards
16
You don’t have to be part of the Union to enjoy Michael Lane’s selection of modern and classic British-born cheeses
Profile: White Wood Dairy
25
Julie Cheyney, two-time recipient of the James Aldridge Trophy, gives Mick Whitworth the story behind St Jude and St Ceraditive cheese
29
Interview: Ann-Marie Dyas
31
hat has Brexit got to do with the price of cheese? Quite a lot, judging by what was happening to exchange rates as this annual edition of Good Cheese went to press, To say we are living in interesting times is an obvious understatement, not least for anyone bringing speciality cheeses into the UK from France, Italy or Spain. Just what the coming year will do to the price of some our favourite Continental varieties on British deli counters is anyone’s guess. But every cloud has a silver lining, and if the Continent is indeed cut off next year, it means we Brits can all spend some time getting know our home-grown cheeses even better. Turn to page 16 and you’ll see our suggestions for a few postBrexit cheeseboards, from classics to young upstarts and a modest little Celtic collection too. All very tongue-in-cheek, of course. Given that our publisher, the Guild of Fine Food, has taken the World Cheese Awards to San Sebastián in Spain’s Basque region this year, we’re hardly turning our backs on Europe. On page 37, World Cheese Awards founder Bob Farrand takes time out to visit artisan Idiazabal PDO producer Queseria La Leze and find out more about this less-well-known cousin of Manchego. Turn the page and you’ll see the outcome of a shamelessly boozy morning I spent with our resident cheese buff Patrick McGuigan and the team from La Cave à Fromage in Hove, working out which of their huge selection of European cheeses can be paired with everything from smoked vodka to Manzanilla sherry. (Spoiler alert: as far as I could see, nothing goes well with a wishywashy ‘pear cider’, although a real perry might have fared better). And on page 31, Michael Lane visits the esteemed Ann-Marie Dyas, co-founder of The Fine Cheese Company, to get her views on interesting new ways to serve everything from pecorino to the buffalo milk Casatica. We’ve got profiles of traditional cheese shops, the latest in cheesy street food, and an interview with Tunworth co-founder Julie Cheyney, who went solo in 2012 with White Wood Dairy and since then has twice won the artisan cheese sector’s biggest accolade, the James Aldridge Trophy for Britain’s best raw milk cheese. Whether you’re making it, selling it or – most importantly – just enjoying good cheese , you should find plenty to get your teeth into in this year’s magazine.
MICK WHITWORTH Editorial Director Good Cheese and Fine Food Digest
After opening her first London store, The Fine Cheese Company’s co-founder offers some new ways to present cheese in the shop and on the plate
Street food
35
From mac n cheese to poutine, we meet five businesses taking hot cheese dishes to markets and city streets
EDITORIAL editorial@gff.co.uk
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Bob Farrand travels to the Basque Country to meet cheesemaker La Lezese 29
Editorial director Mick Whitworth Deputy editor: Michael Lane Art director: Mark Windsor Contributors: Patrick McGuigan, Isabelle Plasschaert, Bridget Cowan
Drinks and cheese matching
ADVERTISING advertise@gff.co.uk
Tel: 01747 825200 Fax: 01747 824065 info@gff.co.uk www.gff.co.uk
Published by the Guild of Fine Food Ltd
Guild of Fine Food, Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB United Kingdom
Idiazabal 37 38
Sales director: Sally Coley Sales manager: Ruth Debnam Sales executive: Becky Stacey
Forget Stilton and Port: we join David Deaves and Alan Watson of La Cave à Fromage to find new ways to match cheese with beer, spirits and... tea?
Accompaniments and accessories
41
Good Cheese is a sister magazine of Fine Food Digest. FFD is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £45pa inclusive of post and packing. Printed by: Monster Media Management, Dorset, UK
From chutneys to cheeseboards, our pick of the perfect partners for cheese
Recipe inspirations
45
Three top chefs suggest new dishes for you to try
Where to buy good cheese Find your nearest stockist in this directory of shops
47
Front cover image of Tunworth cheese: StockFood/Michael Paul
© The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2016. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.
goodcheese 2016-17
3