Have you met: Simon Weaver Organic Cheese
In his business development role for the family dairy, Lewis Weaver explains why we should choose local cheese for Christmas this year…
- How did you start to make local brie?
We set up our creamery in 2005 after identifying a gap in the market for a quality, locally-made brie. Our passion for cheese-making started with brie but has since grown to include several other types of cheese too like our Single Gloucester.
- What makes your brie so special?
We are an organic farm and have a fully organic system – our cows eat a clover-rich, fully organic diet, and we produce the cheese onsite so it is as fresh as it possibly can be.
- What kind of cows do you have?
We have mainly Friesian – around 230 – and we also have our own herd of Gloucester cattle, which is a requirement for making Single Gloucester cheese.
- How many cheeses do you make?
We make four types of brie: plain, blue-vein, herb and a smoked brie. We also make single Gloucester and a Greek-style cheese, which is similar to a feta.
- What is your most popular cheese?
The plain organic brie is definitely our best-selling, although our smoked brie has been immensely popular this year and our blue brie is our most award-winning.
- How should we eat your cheese?
All of our cheese should be eaten at room temperature. One of my favourite ways to eat the brie is to bake it on the oven until it melts and dip into it with crusty bread.
- What cheese would you recommend visitors to the market should try next?
If you like the plain brie, then definitely try the blue brie – people are often surprised by how mild and creamy it is, plus if you allow it to ripen up to its best before date, it gets wonderfully strong!
