Christmas cheese board

Create an award-winning cheese board with these local cheese selections…

 

 

Hard Cheese

Gould’s Cheddar: this award-winning traditional farmhouse cheddaris crafted to a family recipe that has passed through the generations. Supremely tasty with a smooth texture, this cheddar is the stuff of legends. Try it extra mild, mature or extra tasty or flavoured with herbs, chillies or garlic.

Godsell’s Artisan Cheese: Liz Godsell’s award-winning cheeses are a great addition to any cheese board. The rich and fruity cheddar-style Leonard Stanleyis divine on oatcakes while her Double Gloucester is slightly mellower with a sweeter finish. Liz is also one of a handful of cheese makers to produce traditional Single Gloucester.

Jonathan Crump: give your cheese board a talking point by making Jonathan’s Single Gloucester the star of the show. Single Gloucester has a PDO which means there are strict criteria governing where and how it can be made – Jonathan is the only producer to use milk solely from Gloucester cattle. Milk from these cows is creamier and higher in fat content than other breeds and boy does it show – both his Single and Double Gloucesters are multi award-winners.

 

Soft Cheese

Simon Weaver Organic: think of locally produced brie and you instantly think of Simon Weaver who has been producing his award-winning organic bries since 2005. The soft and buttery plain brie is his most popular, but can be enjoyed in other variations too – with herbs,smoked or blue-veined. See Have you met? for more on Simon’s range of local, organic cheeses.

Bath Soft Cheese: this family-run farm produces the creamy camembert-style Bath Soft, with hints of mushroom and lemon as well as the brie-style Kelston Park with fruity, lemony flavours.

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Cheese

Bath Soft Cheese: forget Stilton, the only blue you want on your cheese board this year is the Bath Blue. This award-winning cheese beat over 2500 other cheeses to be crowned Supreme Champion in the World Cheese Awards. Praised for its lovely creamy, buttery texture, it is salty with hints of chocolate and a much more subtle flavour than Stilton.

Brinkworth Dairy: blue cheese it what this husband and wife team do best but what a dilemma – do you go for the Champion Cheese winner Brinkworth Blue, a blue-veined creamy yet firm cheese, or the Royal Basset Blue, a soft, creamy blue brie with complex flavours, which was crowned Best Cheese at the Taste of the West awards?

 

 

 

 

 

Goat’s Cheese

White Lake Cheese: if you’re a fan of goats’ cheese, then head to this award-winning stall asap. Winners of the Best Goats Cheese Award, and recipients of the Supreme Champion title at the World Cheese Awards, you’re in for a treat. Hunt down Rachel, winner of the Best Goats Cheese in the World title, a semi-soft cheese with a sweet, medium flavour, or Eve, a soft goat’s cheese washed in Somerset Cider Brandy and wrapped in a vine leaf.

Windrush Dairy: award-winning soft goats’ cheese produced from a herd of British pedigree Saanan goats is what you’ll find at this dairy. The range includes a pure, unflavouredSoft Cheese,Herb & Garlic, made with fresh coriander, chive and garlic, a black pepper cheese and feta–type cheeses.

 

 

 

 

Something a bit different

The Old Cheese Room: cheese-maker, Julianna Sedli, honed her craft at famed fromagerie, Neals Yard Dairy in London. She specialises in making Baronet, a reblochon-style cheese, that can vary in taste and structure depending on what the cows have been grazing. Baronet is rind-washed in brine every three weeks and has a refreshing yet complex flavour. Try one of the mini Baronets whole, studded with rosemary, garlic and thyme as a party starter.

Bath Soft Cheese: if you enjoy gouda-style cheese, then the succulent, nutty and creamy Wyfe of Bath is a must. With a hint of summer buttercups and a soft caramel colour, it is made in cloth lined baskets – the epitome of Olde England!