Speciality-Food-Magazine-September-2024

and reinvigoration of our classic Yorkshire territorial cheese and then the innovation of new and distinct cheeses by a range of cheesemakers across the region.” This is vital, says Caroline. “The collaboration and support that exists among cheesemakers is the thing that makes this industry so unique and really very special.” Telling the Yorkshire story “Yorkshire has such a fantastically diverse story to tell about the quality food produced across all four corners of our county, from grass-fed lamb in for Yorkshire’s rich cheesemaking tradition.” This deep-rooted knowledge and expertise “ensures that the cheese produced is of exceptional quality and hasn’t changed today”. Shepherds Purse is, Caroline says, one of many Yorkshire cheesemakers that has looked to the past, blending traditional methods with more innovative techniques to create modern and unique varieties. “We have the famous, traditional Kit Calvert Wensleydale still being produced in Hawes by Wensleydale Creamery. We’re also home to Yorkshire Pecorino, with Mario blending his Italian heritage with local agriculture. There’s Yorkshire Dama, with Razan being inspired in the same way, producing cheeses that she’d loved at home in Syria from the exceptional milk supply she has access to in her new home of Yorkshire.” It’s “great to see the preservation Yorkshire food scene,” Caroline says. “Since the start of Shepherds Purse in the late 80s to the present day, I’ve lived through huge changes (and in my opinion, excellent developments). In the 80s the choices for cheese in the county were pretty limited. When we started making blue cheese and launched Yorkshire Blue in 1993/4, there hadn’t been a blue cheese made in Yorkshire since the 60s, and now we enjoy such a rich diversity of cheeses made across the region.” Cheesemaking, Caroline says, dates back centuries in Yorkshire “as it does across the world”, with significant contributions from monastic communities. “Medieval monks, particularly those from Cistercian and Benedictine orders, were instrumental in developing and refining cheesemaking techniques in the region. Their meticulous record-keeping and dedication to high standards laid the foundation specialityfoodmagazine.com 37 the uplands of the Yorkshire Dales to the bountiful veg from the vast swathes of productive arable land in the East, and everything in between,” says Allister Nixon, CEO of Yorkshire Agricultural Society, organiser of the Great Yorkshire Show, and a registered farming charity. For Allister, the opportunity to showcase the brilliance of Yorkshire’s growers and makers is one of the very best things about the annual show, which really brings those stories to life. Those of “small family-run farms exhibiting livestock in the show rings, and of independent food and drink producers offering an incredible array of delicious locally produced food and drink in the Food Hall.” Put together, Allister adds it’s “a compelling reason for supporting and sourcing Yorkshire produce, and it is why the Yorkshire Agricultural Society is proud to work closely with regional food and drink group, Deliciously Yorkshire to champion local producers. “If the UK is serious about addressing food security, improving public procurement of British food and reducing food miles to meet net zero targets, then Yorkshire has a huge role to play in supplying quality food and drink for the nation from farmers and food producers who are embracing environmental challenges and continuing to innovate in an ever-changing world.” A growing dairy heritage Yorkshire can lay claim to being one of the most significant dairy counties in the UK, as home to Wensleydale – made famous in recent history by the Wallace & Gromit animations. Caroline Bell, a director of family- run cheesemaker Shepherds Purse, and head steward of the dairy section at Great Yorkshire Show, says there is a great deal to celebrate when it comes to Yorkshire produce... especially cheese. “I’ve enjoyed a front-row seat to the vibrant and rapidly-evolving CAPTION