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| Neals Yard Dairy at Spa Terminus (Pre-lockdown) |
To a good cheesemaker and cheesemonger, every cheese is precious, not just for how much money can be made out of it but for the effort that has gone into selecting the milk, making the cheese, maturing it and getting it to the customer at its best. Right now, in the midst of Covid 19, small-scale British cheesemakers are fighting for their livelihoods. The reasons for this are well explained by Jason Hinds of Neals Yard Dairy in this extract from their latest blogpost:
Not everyone benefited from the pandemic-fuelled sweep that made March a record month for supermarket sales. In fact, as the aisles were cleared of packets and cans, it became clear that the panic buying (and the big retailers’ response to it) would come at a huge cost to some producers. “The soft cheeses, the blue cheeses, even some of the specialist hard cheeses were all cleared to create space for commodities,” Jason explains. “What cheese was sold was cheap, freezable and grateable.” Orders were cancelled, not to be repeated in the foreseeable future, and cheese rejected or sent back to producers. Add to that the restaurant closures and the shutting or markedly reduced capacity of markets and you have “a double whammy” for producers who depend on supermarkets and restaurants as well as specialist suppliers like Neal’s Yard Dairy for income.
Some cheesemakers are more resilient than others, at least in the short-term, Jason Hinds explains:
“The gravity of this situation depends on the type of cheese,” Jason explains. “Producers who make blue and soft cheeses suffer the most – particularly as those are the most likely to make their way into restaurants.” While the producers of hard, mature cheeses at least have the option of keeping their stock for a few weeks longer, those that make highly perishable cheeses had no choice but to say goodbye to thousands of pounds and gallons of milk. “In a normal week, Joe Bennett who makes Innes Log and Innes Brick at Highfields Farm Dairy could make 1,400 cheeses. Last week he made 22. He’s pouring milk down the drain,” Jason continues. For Joe and other producers like him, the next month will prove “the most pivotal in their histories, as they face the prospect of throwing more cheese and milk away if they can’t quickly find homes.”
You can read the full blog post here
While Neals Yard Dairy, which is where I buy most of my cheese and other dairy goods, are supporting these producers by taking, selling and delivering as many short-life cheeses as they possibly can, I thought a list of cheesemongers and small shops keeping farmhouse cheese around the country might be helpful for now and into the future. A lot of them are open and are delivering during the pandemic. I've put links on each so you can easily check and keep up to date during this ever-changing situation. The list is, of course, not comprehensive but it’s a start and it can be added to.
Where to buy British and Irish Farmhouse Cheeses now:
Some small-scale cheesemakers are now selling direct, including makers of:
Baron Bigod - Fen Farm Dairy, Bungay, Suffolk
Lincolnshire Poacher - Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, Alford, Lincolnshire
Westcombe Cheddar, Duckett's Caerphilly & Ricotta, - Westcombe Dairy, Evercreech, Somerset
LONDON
Natoora - recently added Neals Yard Dairy cheeses to their deliveries
OUTSIDE LONDON
Welbeck Farm Shop, Welbeck, Worksop, Nottingham
Jericho Cheese Company, Oxford
The Courtyard Dairy, Austwick, Nr Settle, N. Yorks
The Cambridge Cheese Company, Cambridge
The Little Deli, Hitchen, Herts
The Fine Cheese Company, Bath
Landrace Bakery, Bath
The Farm, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Chorlton Cheesemongers, Chorlton, Manchester
Cartmel Cheeses, Cartmel, Cumbria
The Cheese Society, Lincoln
Cheese Please, Lewes, East SussexThecheesegeek.com
And, if you can only go to supermarkets at this time, why not ask 'where's the British Farmhouse Cheese?'. I hope to see more shops join this list.
