Cheese Buyer - May 2025

8 CLAWSON R ed Leicester may be a familiar sight on supermarket shelves, but a particularly special and artisanal option is waiting in the wings in the form of Clawson’s Rutland Red®: richly buttered with sweet-savoury notes and a satisfyingly open texture. Sitting alongside Clawson’s famed Stilton® and Shropshire Blue cheeses, Rutland Red® is testament to the team’s dedication to harnessing the magic of its in-house master cheesemakers while simultaneously supporting local farming communities. Heritage at its heart Sitting at the heart of the stunning Vale of Belvoir, it’s only natural that the provenance and heritage of Clawson is a leading light in its present and future plans when it comes to Rutland Red® and the rest of the cheesemaker’s range. “We’re constantly inspired by being able to trace our products back to the farmwhere the milk was produced, and the fact that our closest farm is only 1,000 yards from the dairy is a source of genuine pride,” says Bill Mathieson, managing director. This cheesemaker’s history is proudly inspiring its future. Having mastered the creation of Stilton across its generations of production, Clawson was inspired to look to the past to create Rutland Red®. With the sales of Stilton® often weighted towards Christmas and production reliant on spring milk, many Stilton-makers created plaudits from across the UK. Indeed, both consumers of all persuasions and awards judges are big fans of Rutland Red®; it won a Gold Medal at the Global Cheese Awards 2024 and most recently a Gold Medal at the British Cheese Awards 2025, testament to the quality and unique taste experience it offers. longevity of involvement and relationships in the community and highlighting this multi- generational vein still runs through everything we do, from farmers to cheesemakers.” To produce cheeses as special as Clawson’s, a certain kind of magic has to be present in the form of master cheesemakers, each with a set of individual ‘golden rules’. “These will be tweaked throughout the year as milk constantly changes and each cheese is different, but they all have a sense of methodology and consistency to what they do,” says Bill. A bright future With time-honoured skills and an ethos to be proud of, the Clawson team is set to delight cheese lovers for years to come. “Our vision is to be the number one cheesemaker for provenance and to handcraft consistently excellent cheeses by the hands of master cheesemakers,” says Bill. This passion to be the best has earned the cheesemaker a Red Leicester-style cheese to utilise the milk from other seasons. Clawson reinvigorated Red Leicester in the early 2000s, using traditional methods including open vats, handheld hoops and presses, and turning and grading by hand to create the exceptional Rutland Red® cheese. Master craftsmen As valuable to Clawson as its cheesemaking traditions are the talented craftspeople who create it. “We have a number of colleagues here whose families have worked here for generations,” says Bill. “Richard, who is our head cheesemaker, is the third generation of his family who have produced cheese at Clawson – his grandmother used to make Stilton here, and a great uncle made a Red Leicester. It’s wonderful that these traditional skills have been passed down from generation to generation within our team. “Indeed, the family of our chairman, Paul Eggleston, were founding members, showing the @specialityfood Clawson reinvigorated Red Leicester in the early 2000s, using traditional methods including open vats, handheld hoops and presses, and turning and grading by hand to create the exceptional Rutland Red cheese Rich, buttery and with a perfect balance of sweet and savoury, Clawson’s Rutland Red is primed to delight your customers CAREFULLY CRAFTED Rutland Red, with its open texture and full-bodied flavour, is clothbound and smothered in butter to retain moisture and boosts flavour. The resultant cheese, the only pasteurised Red Leicester made using traditional methods, is rich in flavour with a flaky texture. Intensely savoury with a hint of buttery caramel and nuttiness on the finish, Bill likes to enjoy it “with a sweet relish on a cracker with a glass of great red wine.” HOW TO ENJOY RUTLAND RED