Speciality Food Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2025

cure’,” she recalls. “Then I saw Dame Deborah James, the Bowelbabe, doing her final interview on the BBC, saying you only get one life, life is precious. I watched that on the Friday, and by Monday I’d put an offer on this shop. The rest is history!” A beautiful experience Katherine says she’s very lucky that, not only is she positioned amongst several other brilliant independents, but she’s also endowed with such a visually appealing shop. “Because it’s an old apothecary we have beautiful cupboards, several hundreds of years old, around the shop with Latin written across them.” All that rich heritage has been preserved, while giving the premises a contemporary twist – from a bold navy colour scheme, to the striking Italian glass counter. “You get that real contrast between feeling like you’re walking into an old shop, and a modern-day approach,” Katherine explains. She’s worked long and hard to source the cheese selection, and is proud that customers are returning over and over again not only for the cheese, but for the service. “Everyone who works for me is brilliant,” Katherine says. “Someone might come in and say, ‘help, I’ve got a dinner party for 12 and I don’t know 36 @specialityfood S ome of Gerson & Sons founder, Katherine Gershon’s, earliest memories revolve around cheese. On the beach in Cornwall, eating a slice of Red Leicester with Branston Pickle as a child. Or family holidays in France as a teen, where she and her sister (both learning French at school) were dispatched to buy croissants, exploring boulangeries and fromageries along the way. Katherine’s passion for travel and food ultimately led her to a career in the travel industry, but when the Covid lockdowns hit “it was like groundhog day”. With spare time on her hands, Katherine says, she decided to learn more about her other love – cheese - taking on the Academy of Cheese Level 1 course, and doing occasional work for other local cheesemongers. “Opening my own shop was going to be ‘kill or LOCATION: OLD AMERSHAM FOUNDED: 2022 FOUNDER: KATHERINE GERSHON Gershon & Sons The Problem Solvers Besides the cheese, it’s the people who make being a cheesemonger so enjoyable, says Katherine. “People often turn up tired, or busy, or stressed with a problem, and I love that they always leave happy, and confident what they’ve bought will taste great and look great. Helping people to entertain, and making entertaining easy and fun – that’s what food should be about.” WHAT I LOVE ABOUT BEING A CHEESEMONGER LONDON & SOUTH