Speciality Food September 2025

@specialityfood 40 WHOLESALER’S PERSPECTIVE “Christmas for Rowcliffe is always focused around the classics, with a few modern-day twists. We are finding that more people don’t want to take chances with their Christmas cheeseboard, and trade up through established artisan favourites that offer a broad variety of types and experiences. “Colston Bassett Stilton, Blue Shropshire, Baron Bigod, Le Cret Gruyere and Rosary goats’ cheese are still solid cornerstones. And Alpine cheeses remain strong players, hitting the ongoing trend for hot eating. “While we anticipate good spending over the Christmas period, speciality cheeses offer a range of sizes that allow more price conscious customers to seek out smaller portions – something our newly launched ‘Rowcliffe Presents’ range offers. Waxed cheeses will feature heavily as ever, which we have fulfilled with our Rolling Cheese Co truckles. “The Christmas period continues to be a time when people want to treat themselves and others, and artisan cheese falls right into that. We are also seeing artisan cheese being used in different ways. It’s no longer a cheeseboard staple, but commonly featured in canapes, hot snacks and innovative recipes.” Paul Heasman, purchasing coordinator at Rowcliffe, shares his thoughts on Christmas cheese buying in 2025 CHARLES MARTELL BABY STINKING BISHOP The same artisanal, full fat washed rind cheese you know, but now available in a handy 250g mini wrapped wheel. charlesmartell.com CAMBOZOLA CAMBOZOLA BLACK LABE L An award-winning, premium blu e cheese with a fine aroma and wonderful creaminess. This chee se is naturally lactose free. thisisfinecheese.com GODMINSTER BRUTON BEAUTY STAR Fantastic for gifting. Godminster’s organic, deeply savoury, rich, moreish Cheddar, tucked inside a wax star- shape truckle. godminster.com ALP BLOSSOM Supple but firm cheese made using pasture-grazed milk, and adorned with edible flowers. Looks stunning on a cheeseboard. hofkaeserei-kraus.de MRS KIRKHAM’S MRS KIRKHAM’S TASTY LANCASHIRE Unlike any other Lancashire cheese. This is bold and punchy with bite and a slightly crumbly texture. mrskirkhamscheese.co.uk TOSI GORGONZOLA SCOOPING GORGONZOLA All the rage in counters right now. Bring theatre to your cheese offering with this silky scooping blue. tosigorgonzola.com ISLE OF KINTYRE GIGHA FRUIT WHISKY APPLE An attractive apple-shaped waxed cheese filled with prime quality mature Scottish Cheddar, blended with Islay malt whisky and brandy. scotcheese.com CORNISH CHEESE CO EXTRA MATURE CORNISH CHEDDAR Rounded, creamy Cheddar with a bite and crunch from calcium lactate crystals. Full of character. cornishcheese.co.uk CLAWSON FARMS TRUFFLE SEEKER Richly flavoured extra mature Chedda r, blended with sweet honey, white truffle, porcini mushroom and cracked black pepper. clawsonfarms.co.uk CROPWELL BISHOP CREAMERY MINI BLUE STILTON The dairy’s unmistakeable, award- winning Stilton, wrapped in branded wax paper, ready for festive gifting. cropwellbishopcreamery.co.uk every member of staff works slightly differently. The main thing is to be polite, and always, always wish them a happy Christmas. It’s meant to be a jolly time, but people get so stressed rushing around. We want to make their experience with us as pleasurable as possible.” Finally, says Camilla, smile! “Teammorale is the number one priority at Christmas, as this is what most heavily affects customer experience. We all feel so lucky to be cheesemongers, working in such an extraordinary shop, and every member of our tiny team is passionate and enthusiastic, so we’re confident in our service. We hope that our positivity can brighten the days of even the busiest customer, and a queue isn’t so bad when they leave with a bag of delicious, artisan cheese!” ● Plan for ‘betwixtmas’ The funny period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve can be quite discombobulating (“what day is it again?”) but in the world of cheese it’s essential (after the turkey’s eaten, the Port downed) to do a shop reset, ready for everyone’s party plans. Nick says he always keeps a bit of stock back for after Boxing Day, ready for New Year’s Eve. “We have a tick list database of all the cheeses. When they come in we tick off how much of each cheese is needed for pre-orders, take those off, then split the cellar in two. One set of shelves is for orders, and another set is for the shop so we’re not pinching someone’s Christmas cheese – we try not to rob Peter to pay Paul – and we plan in fresh cheese deliveries after Boxing Day so we’re ready to go when we open.” Croome Cheese is lovingly made on our family farm in Worcestershire. A varied range of flavour-packed cheeses that do the hard work so you don't have to! croomecuisine.com 01905 350 788 info@croomecuisine.com TASTE REIGNS SUPREME