Speciality Food Magazine -November/December 2025

CHEESE UNCUT 33 New retail perspectives from industry experts Four newBritish cheeses were pitted against one another last month in The Real Cheese Project’s People’s Cheese competition. Cheeses lovers purchased boxes containing the finalist cheeses (as chosen in previous rounds), sampling themat home alongside a livestream, hosted by The Real Cheese Project co-founder James Grant, and self- professed cheese addict, comedian Marcus Brigstoke. Of those tasted – including Yr Afr fromWackyWedge, Nanny Gwynn fromCornish Cheese Co, and Ooh La La fromHighland Fine Cheeses – it was Stone Tree Dairy’s Redlap that came out victorious, being named Britain’s Best NewCheese. Helen Boyd, co-founder of the dairy in Dartmouth, South Devon, told Speciality Food she and her husbandMartinwere thrilled by the announcement. “My husband always wanted to make cheese,” Helen said. “He finished his jobwith a tech company, so the timing felt perfect. At the timewe lived inWiltshire, where the countryside is fantastic, but we couldn’t find the kind of farmwewere looking for. Then this specialityfoodmagazine.com The teamat GoldenHooves are celebrating the regenerative cheesemaker’s Vintage Cheddar being named UK Supreme Champion at the Global Cheese Awards for the second time. One of the biggest prizes in the industry, the trophy takes GoldenHooves’ tally up to 50 individual awards, with accolades having been bestowed by Great Taste, the British & Irish Cheese Awards, International Cheese & Dairy Awards, Virtual Cheese Awards and others. GoldenHooves’ co-op has also been honouredwith the King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development – testament to the hardwork that’s gone on behind the scenes since the brand launched two years ago. Director, LeonaMcDonald, said of themost recent win, “It’s been an incredible couple of years for Golden Hooves, but this award really stops us in our tracks –we’re thrilled! More andmore peoplewant food that’s better for the planet without giving up the joy of proper cheese, and that’s exactlywhat we’re all about.” She continued, “This trophy is a lovely reminder that you don’t have to choose between flavour and farming that restores the land. We’ve got the cheese – and the butter, crackers and other treats – to prove it.” Cheesemaker wins 50 awards in two years one came up.” The couplemoved in 2020 and invested heavily in building a dairy fromscratch, milking for the first time late last spring, and launching their first cheeses at Dartmouth Food Festival inOctober 2024 – all made with rawmilk from the farm’s own grass-fed goats. Of their range of four (which includes soft cheeses and a feta-style) it’s Redlap that won the hearts of the public this autumn. Crafted in anAlpine style, it’s turned andwashed twice aweek and aged for aminimumof fivemonths up to around 10months. “We’re really pleasedwith it, because it’s exactlywhat we set out tomake,” addedHelen. “Everyone told us we couldn’t make a goats’ milk Alpine cheese because themilk can’t be heated to the same extent as cow’s milk. But as soon as we heard that, we wanted to try it. It works well. It’s so nice to be able to showyou canmake things other than soft white cheese with goats’ milk. Those varieties are great, andwill always have a really important place on the cheeseboard, but I think, at themoment, there’s a perception you can do lots of things with cow’smilk and not with goats’ and that’s not necessarily the case.” Of the award, Helen continued, “It’s been remarkable. We’ve got a great teamwe’ve built up over the year, and we’re incredibly proud of them. It’s really fantastic for us. What’s been so gratifying has been the amount of support we’ve had both from consumers and local cheesemongers and delis who’ve championed our cheeses.” Britain’s Best New Cheese announced