Cheese Retailers April 2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 37 WEWANT TO BE THE INTIMATE PLACE TO GO TO CREATE THAT VERY SPECIAL TABLE, BE IT AT THE START OR END OF YOURMEAL for those wanting something different when isolating at home.” Parlourmentary stands out from the crowd in terms of its display, too – no doubt drawing hungry crowds. “I like to think the shop has a fun and approachable design to its cheese offering, as customers can view all the cheeses in the front windows before coming to the counter – I feel this takes away any nervous requests,” James explains. Seasonality plays a valuable role – “we really follow the seasons, showcasing ingredients that are at their very best, be it from the local farms or further afield in Europe” – plus cheese and whisky tastings, fondue nights and ‘Squeek-easy’ cocktail and cheese nights provide further opportunities for cheese lovers fromnear and far to get a taste of what Parlourmentary has to offer. Parlourmentary’s customer base runs the full gamut, “from avid cheese fans to those wanting to learn about what cheese is,” explains James, although his favourite customers are the children that lead the family cheese board. “We have several young children that dictate what they want to try by style and flavour – it’s inspiring andmakes us really feel that we are something special.” BEST-SELLING CHEESES BOOK & BUCKET CHEESE COMPANY SHAKESPEARE Awhite bloomy- rinded cheese with rich creaminess and mushroomy notes whenmatured. thebookandbucket cheesecompany.co.uk PICOS BLUE A stunningmaple- wrapped cheese from Northern Spain. bascofinefoods.com AFFINEURWALO RED WINE FARMER A semi-hard cheese, matured with red wine for six months, strong and spicy with a hint of red wine. affineurwalo.ch WESTCOMBE CHEDDAR A deep brothy flavour andmellow lactic tang with notes of hazelnut, caramel and citrus. westcombedairy.com Thanks to his restauranteur background, culinary experimentation is the name of the game at James’s establishments. “I always like to do experimental products,” he begins. “This year I took some younger Stoney Cross fromLyburn andmatured it in fermented grape pomace. The pomace was sourced just up the road from a biodynamic winery. Once the Pinos Gris grapes were crushed the fibrous pomace was separated and I placed it in a sealed vat all around the cheeses. After two months of ageing it gave the cheese a real bright and tropical, wine-y finish – I thought it was great, and luckily so did others!” This experimentation was a celebratory coming together of three local businesses: a local cheesemaker, a local winery, and Parloumentary.