Speciality-Food-Magazine-September-2024

that makes shoppers want to linger, which often leads to extra spend. When it comes to the cheese counter, create a functional yet inspiring space. “Thinking about those cheeses that add a bit of theatre and celebration is really important,” says Sarah. “Encourage your customers to visualise what their Christmas dinner table will look like and picture them opening up a larger-than-life truckle of cheese to the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of their friends and family.” Rory recommends keeping it simple and stocking it high to catch people’s attention. Last year the exterior of I.J. Mellis was adorned with clementines fromParis for a striking display which not only caught customers’ eyes but added a fragrance to proceedings, too. “People were buying two or three to serve with their cheese – they were only 20 or 30 pence each, but they definitely added so it adds a festive touch!” Goats cheese is delicious on cheese board and in numerous festive recipes. “In terms of enjoying a goats’ cheese as part of a festive cheeseboard, goats’ cheese goes very well with fresh fruit, nuts and honey. Tomake it very special at Christmas you can enjoy goats’ cheese with a drizzle of truffled honey – delicious,” says Roger. “Goats’ cheese goes very well with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or a young red wine like a Cabernet Franc or a Beaujolais. As far as recipes go, think about using semi-hard or hard goats’ cheeses in raclettes, tartiflettes or in a cheese fondue. Perfect dishes for warming you up in the winter!” The art of display When it comes to display, shoppers are expecting fireworks fromfine food retailers – by putting extra effort into the details you can create a space specialityfoodmagazine.com 31 CHRISTMAS 2024 STOCK CHECK S P E C I A L I T Y F O O D M A G A Z I N E * 2 0 2 4 * FEN FARM DAIRY TRUFFLED BARON BIGOD Bloomy, mushroomy raw milk Brie-style cheese, with a layer of homemade mascarpone infused with fine black truffles. fenfarmdairy.co.uk GODMINSTER OAK-SMOKED CHEYNEY’S FORTUNE Organic gold medal-winning Cheddar, cold smoked over oak chippings from sustainable woodlands. godminster.com 1912 ARTISAN STILTON An award-winning creamy yet crumbly Stilton with moreish tanginess and PDO status. 1912.co.uk SNOWDONIA CHEESE COMPANY ROCK STAR FONDUE CHEESE BAKE The vintage cave-aged Cheddar is combined with cracked black pepper and white wine and served in a terracotta pot, ready to warm in the oven. snowdoniacheese.co.uk THE CHESHIRE CHEESE COMPANY RESERVA Creamy Cheddar enhanced with Spanish Rioja wine and a tang of caramelised onions. cheshirecheesecompany.co.uk LE GRUYÈRE AOP An artisanal cheese that’s smooth and aromatic at six months, becoming full- bodied and savoury at 24 months. gruyere.com We find customers like to have their anchor cheeses – say aWensleydale or a Cheddar likeMontgomery and a traditional blue Stilton – but then customers love a wildcard or trying something new! RETAILER INSIGHT WHAT ARE YOUR STRONGEST SELLING CHEESES AT CHRISTMAS? It’s fair to say that Stilton is still incredibly popular at Christmas but perhaps not as popular as it once was. Our Paxton’s Cave Aged Cheddar always appears in our top five, the balance of sweet and nutty but also rich and savoury is a real crowd pleaser! Comté sales grow year on year and there’s definitely a trend for alpine cheeses at the moment! ARE THERE ANY NEW LAUNCHES YOU’RE EXCITED TO SHOWCASE THIS CHRISTMAS? Mountain-style cheeses continue to be a trend in the cheese world; we are really excited to launch a Swiss cheese encrusted with wildflower petals called Wildblutenkase this year. We are also creating a boozy British blue especially for Christmas – Drunken Dovedale is a blue cheese from Derbyshire that we have infused with our Monbazillac, a dessert wine from the Dordogne. ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS MORE ADVENTUROUS DURING THE FESTIVE SEASON OR DO THEY STICK TO FESTIVE STALWARTS LIKE STILTON – OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH? It’s definitely a bit of both. We find customers like to have their anchor cheeses – say a Wensleydale (we love the artisan Wensleysdale – Yoredale) or a Cheddar like Montgomery and a traditional blue such as Stilton. But then customers love a wildcard or trying something new! Over the festive period our hand-truffled Brie becomes a real centrepiece for many! Dan Bliss, cheese buyer at Paxton & Whitfield, shares the iconic cheesemonger’s festive best-sellers some fun to the season.” If you have the space for a cheese room, Christmas is likely the time that it will come into its own. “There aren’t many farmshops that can boast having a cheese room, so the experience is like nothingmost people have seen before,” says Dean “Being able to come in to such an environment and to smell and taste all the cheese we have to offer and have it cut to size and neatly wrapped makes it evenmore enjoyable.” Even having a dedicated space doesn’t avoid the annual challenge of howmuch to stock and how to display it well. “At Christmas time our displays tend to be a bit more difficult as due to the volume of customers we need to really fill the cheese roomup but we do like to alwaysmake sure everything is well presented and attractive for our customers,” he concludes.

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