Speciality-Food-Magazine-September-2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 55 Shepherds Purse, the artisan family cheesemaker, is enjoying a double celebration as it won Supreme Champion Cheese at the Great Yorkshire Show, on top of celebrating its 35th anniversary at the show. The cheesemaker first launched at the Great Yorkshire Show in 1989 when its founder, the late Judy Bell MBE, took her innovative sheep’s milk ‘Feta’ (nowMrs Bell’s Salad Cheese), withmixed responses from farmers who weren’t used to eating cheese made from sheep’s milk. Fast forward to today, and for the first time ever at the Great Yorkshire Show, Shepherds Purse has won Supreme Champion for its newly launched Organic Yorkshire Blue cheese which uses milk produced at Acorn Organic Dairies . The judges described the winner as having “a creamy texture with elegant, sweet notes, buttery, creamy, indulgent and well balanced. Awell-deserved winner.” The sisters have dedicated their prestigious win to their mum. The family’s first organic cheese also wonmajor trophies in the Best Organic Product in Show and Best Yorkshire Product in Show classes as well as Mrs Bell’s Blue securing the Best Blue Cheese in Show trophy – a hotly contested category. On top of these wins there were also six golds, three silvers and five bronze awards for the cheese making family. Katie Matten, joint managing director of Shepherds Purse, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to win the Supreme Champion Cheese award at the Great Yorkshire Show and to win it for the first time on our 35th anniversary is beyond special. “It’s such a fitting tribute to our mum, Judy especially as she’d always wanted to launch an organic cheese. Caroline and I feel proud that we have delivered her ambitions and so this win really does seem like the perfect way to celebrate the journey we’ve been on as a family and a business. Our 35th anniversary feels like a significant milestone after the sadness of losingmumbut we now look to the future as we continue to produce our world-class cheeses and to fly the flag for Yorkshire cheesemaking.” Family celebrates ‘touching’ award at Great Yorkshire Show Take part in the Real Cheese Project’s 2024 live final The Real Cheese Project is inviting independent retailers and cheese-loving consumers to choose their winners for the final of The People’s Cheese, Heritage Edition. The project, launched by James Grant of No2 Pound Street, is on a mission to educate shoppers about artisan cheese and guide them to independent cheese shops. The four semi-finalists, chosen by hundreds of members of the public at Chiswick Cheese Market in July, are Keens Cheddar, Thelmas Original Caerffili, Cropwell Bishop Stilton and Mr’s Bourne’s Cheshire. To take part, retailers need to buy cheese from the four cheeses competing and sell tasting boxes to customers who can tune in to the live final. The People's Cheese final – hosted by comedianMarcus Brigstocke – will take place at Mrs Kirkham’s, Lancashire, on 11th October and will be live streamed. To find out more, visit therealcheeseproject.co.uk