the james aldridge memorial trophy
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Ragstone is one of our favourite British goats' milk cheeses at The Fine Cheese Co. and to our great delight it recently won one of the most prestigious awards in our industry: The James Aldridge Memorial Trophy for Best Unpasteurised Cheese.
The award which is given in the honour of the late, pioneering cheese-maker and affineur James Aldridge and is voted for by fellow cheesemakers and members of the Specialist Cheesemaker Association -the Oscars for cheese-makers! Ragstone is an unpasteurised goats' milk cheese made by Charlie Westhead and Haydn Roberts in Herefordshire. It was one of Charlie's first creations and Charlie named it after 'Ragstone Ridge' which ran close to his original dairy in Sevenoaks, Kent.
It is made with a twist on the traditional French Ste Maure, by the addition of a white mould. The curd is first set overnight, before being hand-ladled into log shaped moulds. At 2-3 weeks the cheese has developed it's milky-white coat, its flavour is lemony and its texture mellow and creamy.