Speciality Food Magazine May 2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 23 James and Nicola Grant of No2 Pound Street, and Sam and Amy Brice of Freshly Ground PR, have come together to launch The Real Cheese Project – with a mandate to champion artisanal British cheese, while encouraging shoppers to buy artisan-made over industrial. The Real Cheese Project will work collaboratively across the speciality cheese world to help showcase the people and products that make it so special. Consumers will be able to join the project from September, with members receiving a box each month containing a cheese newspaper, and a wedge of cheese with a story to tell, supported by an online tasting session. James says, “Britain loves its cheese, but most people aren’t aware of what’s on offer away from The founders of Village Maid say they are very happy to be able to secure the continued future of BarkhamBlue cheese, having taken on production fromTwo Hoots. Anne and Andy Wigmore set up Village Maid nearly four decades ago, and have expanded the business considerably, starting with Pecorino- style Spenwood, and adding varieties such as Waterloo and the eponymous Wigmore. BarkhamBlue was, until recently, made close to Village Maid’s Berkshire base by Anne’s cousin Sandy Rose and husband Andy. “They set up in their garden too,” says Anne, “inspired by what we were doing, so locally we had a really good combination between us. Their two children are now in their 30s and didn’t want to take over the business, so they were going to sell it. We didn’t want it to go out of the family so thought we’d just go for it and take it on ourselves!” A dedicated area of Village Maid’s cheesemaking premises has been sectioned off to make BarkhamBlue, with the business recently granted permission to build a separate ‘blue dairy’, which they hope will be up- and-running before Christmas. It’s Anne’s hope that they will ramp up production, and bring the cheese to a larger audience. “BarkhamBlue has a huge following locally as well as nationally and we’ve been able to pick up some different customers who weren’t able to get hold of it, which is great. There’s a huge demand for the cheese.” When the blue dairy is established, Anne says she’d like to venture into making other blue cheeses in the future too. “I was always keen on Sandy making a blue sheep’s milk cheese,” she says. “I did get her to make some, and it was lovely, but she didn’t carry on with it. That’s something we might possibly make if we can get enough sheep’s milk. We’re struggling locally with that at the moment.” Made with Guernsey milk, BarkhamBlue has, Anne says, “A terrific creamy texture and bright colour which is more enhanced with the summer milk. It’s not too strong and we try not to make it too salty either. We’ve made over a dozen batches of it now...we’re always tweaking and improving.” Village Maid takes on production of BarkhamBlue industrially produced staples that they’re used to, and the good that small dairy farms are doing for our planet. There’s a huge story to tell here, starting with healthy soil, but encompassing so many other pressing issues of today, including ethical dairy farming, sustainable land management, and technological advances to reduce emissions. We’re here to tell these stories, with lots of incredible cheese to eat along the way.” Sam adds, “With over 1,000 artisan cheeses to choose from in Britain, we’d love to see more consumers seeking out something new from independent cheese shops. Real cheese brings a lot of joy as an end product, but there’s so much that lies behind each clothbound truckle and delicate mould-ripened cheese, from handmade techniques and local milk, through to biodiverse farmland, farming families, local economies and our food heritage.” A donation of 5% of all profits will go into a Real Cheese support fund, to be donated to initiatives that protect, develop and progress the production of artisan cheese in Britain. Beyond its own channels, The Real Cheese Project will campaign for artisan cheese through independent research, surveys and PR activities, including collaboration with other organisations in the industry. Group forms to champion artisan cheese producers Snowdonia Cheese Co, known for its bestselling range of truckle cheeses, from Black Bomber to Rock Star, has just unveiled a brand refresh – its first since 2018. Significant investment has been ploughed into the project, which used extensive consumer research to understand how the cheesemaker could meet the needs of existing and fuuture customers. The rebrand elevates the company’s range, focusing on its core pillars of ‘family’, ‘product’, ‘place’ and ‘people’. In addition to shortening the brand name (from Snowdonia Cheese Company), a new logo elevates the significance of the ‘place’ behind the cheeses. Amountain range symbolises Snowdonia Cheese Co’s deep roots in the North Wales landscape, windblown trees anchor the brand to the wilderness, and a traditional farmhouse embodies the beginning of the business, in a nod to the place where the cheese’s founders (John and Richard) lived as fourth generation dairy farmers. There is a new colour palette too. Slate Blue, in homage to the rich heritage of slate mining in North Wales, and Summit Gold, evoking the sunrises and sunsets that light up the region’s dark skies. Snowdonia Cheese Co unveils new look