Speciality Food Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2025

specialityfoodmagazine.com 49 Revisited The past year has been “huge” for the Rennet &Rind team, says the business’s chief of cheese, PerryWakeman, whowas recently named Affineur of the Year for the third time. Thewholesaler opened a bricks and mortar shop in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in 2024, and Perry reveals it’s going from strength to strength. “We’ve expanded our chilled counter to introducemore fresh British products like BuffaloMozzarella and proper British-made Ricotta,” he explains. “We’ve also broadened our charcuterie offering, sticking firmly to home soil, with some brilliant small-scale producers joining the line-up”. Something “quite special” that customers have been loving is the shop’s ‘pairings on the pavement’ initiative, where they can grab a streetside table, buy a wedge of cheese and a drink, and people-watchwhile they indulge. Then, “on the educational front, we launched The Cheesemonger Experience,” Perry adds, “running the Academy of Cheese Level 1 in-shop. Every timewe announce a date, it books out within 24 hours, which is mad (in the best way). We’re also planning some relaxed late-night openings for the summer. No hard sell. Just good cheese, good drinks and a welcoming space for curious eaters.” Perry feels honoured that the shop has stacked up nominations for locally judged “It’s a cruel question, like asking me to pick a favourite child, but if I had to highlight one, it would be Hidcote fromKing Stone Dairy. It’s just been singing lately. Soft, natural rind. A paste like set custard. And flavour that hits cultured butter, hazelnut and that subtle earthiness you only get from a well-made raw milk cheese. It’s the kind of cheese that makes you stop mid-sentence.” PERRY’S CHEESE OF THE YEAR Rennet &Rind THERE SHOULD BE NO CHEESE SNOBBERY, NO JARGON. JUST GOOD CONVERSATION, ENCOURAGEMENT TO TASTE, AND GENUINE PASSION BEHIND THE COUNTER awards this year. Awards that he says are, “just genuine recognition frompeoplewho care about proper food and independent businesses”. Rennet &Rindwas also featured on a few national TV shows, giving the teama brilliant platform to showcase some of themakers they work with. And Perry’s third triumph at the Affineur of the Year awards is another string to the shop’s bow, further putting it in the spotlight, with him in talks tomake his winning cheese (Dillon, crafted using a Quicke’s Cheddar truckle) commercially available. For the retailer, there are three things that make shoppers’ experience in indies a unique one, far removed fromvisiting their local supermarket. These include knowing themakers (and telling their stories honestly); maturingwith intent (“so every cheesewe cut is at its best, not just ‘in stock’”); and creating a space that feels open. “There should be no cheese snobbery, no jargon. Just good conversation, encouragement to taste, and genuine passion behind the counter.”