Page 6 - Our Blog
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- December 21, 2016A HUGE thank you to all of our customers for the fantastic orders you have placed.Christmas is definitely on the way thanks to your largesse (and DPD, our couriers).We have had some amusing phone calls, and many grateful ones.It was good to talk - so more thanks for making a challenging time of year a joyous one.To the three impossible to please (or even get a word in edgeways) customers, who would make Miss Piggy seem even tempered. Don’t worry it will all soon be over.Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you.From The Fine Cheese Co. team.
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- November 29, 2016
Our all-new Multiple Delivery Address feature is perfect for those of you who are shopping for several Christmas or birthday gifts intended for different people.
Let us guide you through the checkout process for Multiple Delivery Addresses, so you can save time when shopping on The Fine Cheese Co.
Start by adding the products you wish to buy to your bag. Then, when you have finished making your selection, hover your mouse cursor over the My Bag button on the top right of your internet browser’s window and select My Bag / Giftwrap.
You will be taken to the My Bag page and towards the bottom right, below the Proceed to Checkout button, there is a Checkout with Multiple Addresses button. Please click this.
If you already have an account with The Fine Cheese Co. you will need to enter your username and password. Alternatively, new customers can use the option to the right of this.
Once you have either filled in your personal information if you are new customer, or logged in if you are an existing
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- November 08, 2016
Wine and cheese enjoy a harmonious relationship on our dinner tables. For every cheese, there is always a complementary wine that makes for the perfect pairing. The bond between these two does not end there, though. There are countless parallels in the way cheese and wine are produced too.
When making wine, for instance, the soil type can influence the minerals that are absorbed by vines, which affects the grapes and then, as a result, the taste of the wine. Soil has a bearing on cheese as well. The grass where a dairy herd feeds can differ depending on the soil. It’s these subtle differences that contribute to a cheese’s character.
During a recent visit to Ram Hall Farm, where Berkswell cheese is made, we learned from Stephen Fletcher, who manages the farm and dairy operation, that his ewes had shown a preference to a certain type of soil.
Approximately 40 years ago, a lake near to where Stephen’s ewes graze was dredged onto the neighbouring field. Since then, grass has grown over the
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- September 19, 2016
It’s back! Vacherin Mont D’or, the spoonable one, is now in stock. Made in the shadow of the Mont d’Or in France, this cheese has become famous throughout the world.
Vacherin Mont d’Or is only made between the 15th August and 15th March, when the cows have come down the mountain from their high summer pastures, and their milk is too fatty and not plentiful enough to make whole Comté wheels. The Comté co-operatives then turn their hands to making this truly seasonal cheese. Our version is made by Fromagerie Val d’Usiers, and it is an outstanding example: rich and voluptuous, with a resinous flavour from the spruce bark that encircles it.
There are only 11 producers, and our cheeses are made by one of the even fewer small artisan co-operatives. (Most cheese-makers in this area operate as co-ops, and have done for centuries, so that they may pool enough milk from each small mountain farmer to make Comtés, which have sufficient life to be transported to markets far away.)
Washed for about
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- September 14, 2016
Together with cheese-maker Joe Schneider, we’ve created Stichelton Toast, an utterly unique type of toast and a collaboration we're proud of.
The toast is made by combining a generous amount of unpasteurised Stichelton blue cheese with buttermilk, our, sesame seeds, and a dash of lemon juice, before it’s carefully seasoned.
Each slice of Toast is cut thinly to make it super-light and crunchy, and the taste is deeply savoury. This is unlike any of The Fine Cheese Co. range of Toast products, rather than being an accompaniment for cheese, Stichelton Toast is a snack in itself.
Great with a glass of port
Stichelton Toast almost cries out for a drink. Its cheesy, slightly salty, umami tang and crispy texture makes a sophisticated mouthful that begs alcohol. A chilled 10-year Tawny Port is Stichelton Toast’s dream partner, as savoury loves sweet.
Like the rest of the team here, our Co-Founder, Ann-Marie Dyas, is hooked on this new product we’ve created, so much so that she feels it should come
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- September 08, 2016
Did you know we have three cheese shops and café destinations in Bath and London? It’s been an exciting two years as we’ve grown from having just one cheese shop in Bath to three very different locations.
Earlier this year, our original Bath cheese shop and café in Walcot Street was joined by a London cheese shop and dining experience in Motcomb Street, Belgravia. We’re happy to say it’s a launch that’s proven to be a big hit with the locals.
Before Belgravia, we opened our Warehouse shop, which is beyond the outskirts of the city, just off the M4.
The Fine Cheese Co. Bath
Starting where it all began, The Fine Cheese Co. Bath might be more than 25 years’ old, but it’s showing no signs of losing the charm that we tried so hard to create. It still takes our breath away, with its shelves of carefully selected cheese that's both the best of British and the best of Europe.
Our skilled chefs, using only the finest ingredients, cook and bake from scratch, and prepare everything in our café,
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- August 30, 2016
From partners to suppliers, we’re proud of each and every company we work with. We love to shout about the unbelievable quality of these artisan businesses at every opportunity, but that’s us and we’d understand if you thought we might stray a little towards bias.
However, that’s why we feel our passion for these food makers and their products is justified when others show a similar level of excitement towards them, as has been the case recently with a couple of fascinating podcast interviews.
August was a great month for our suppliers, Van Nahmen and White Lake Cheese, as these artisan food producers became radio personalities in two very different podcasts that were broadcast on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
We were exceptionally proud of Van Nahmen, when this producer of nectars and juices was interviewed by Markus Hippi on Monocle’s The Menu, an audio show that’s a guide to food, drink and entertaining.
At the nine minute 55 mark, you can listen to Monocle’s roving reporter being
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- July 28, 2016
Stärnächäs, from Swiss affineur Walo von Mühlenen and cheesemaker Marcel Gabriel, won the prestigious Bradbury’s Trophy, also known as Supreme Champion Continental International Cheese, at the International Cheese Awards 2016 in Nantwich.
The Swiss cheese, which we sell exclusively in the UK, rounded out the ceremony by successfully picking up the Interprofession du Gruyère Award for Best Swiss Cheese as well.
Produced at the foot of the Säntis mountain near Appenzell, Stärnächäs has a flavour that sits somewhere between a Gruyère and an Appenzeller. The texture is slightly supple and smooth, with only the occasional crystal and a few small holes found within the paste.
The sweetness is not as intense as that of an aged Gruyère, as the cheese is aged for only eight months. However, there is a quality about the flavour combined with the texture that is eminently ‘more-ish’: you just can’t stop going back for just one more nibble.
Walo von Mühlenen is no stranger to award wins, having seen
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- June 11, 2016
As proud sponsors of the Best Raw Milk award at the Artisan Cheese Awards in Melton Mowbray, our very own Cheese Care Manager, Ruth Raskin, was given the honour of presenting this prestigious accolade.
Unlike other specialist cheese awards, this event was designed specifically to recognise the craft and skill of the small artisan cheesemaker. Entrants were only permitted from producers of less than 250 tonnes a year and many produce below the 50 tonne mark.
The Fine Cheese Co. sponsored the 'Best Raw Milk Cheese' category, and it was Teifi Farmhouse Cheese, the Welsh-Dutch family company, that picked up first place. Its Celtic Promise cheese, a Caerphilly-style, washed-rind cheese with a slightly moist, pink rind, was given maximum points for appearance and presentation and was deemed "interesting, with great eye appeal" by the judges.
A very high score was awarded for Celtic Promise’s body and texture, while it garnered almost maximum points for flavour and aroma. Overall the judges felt
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- May 17, 2016
To mark 400 years since the birth of the humble Devon Oke cheese, we have curated a selection box featuring a cheese for every century after the Oke’s inception.
Headlining the 400 Years of British Cheese box, which was featured in the June 2016 issue of Food and Travel Magazine, is the Devon Oke itself, a cheese that some believe is older than Cheddar. Cheese-maker Rachel Stevens discovered the Devon Oke recipe only 20 years’ ago and was delighted to re-create a lost tradition. Her cows' milk cheese has a smooth, firm texture and a mellow, creamy flavour.
Accompanying the Devon Oke is the 18th-century Colston Basset Stilton, a pasteurised vegetarian cheese. Made by Billy Kevan and his team in Nottinghamshire, Colston Bassett is one of the only hand-ladled Stiltons still in existence. Hand-ladling produces an intensely rich and creamy cheese; and the Colston Bassett flavour is deep, lingering and complex.
Duckett's Caerphilly, made by Tom Calver at Westcombe Dairy, is representing the 19th
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- May 13, 2016
To celebrate our 25th year and the opening of our new London flagship shop, we’re launching a new range of cheese macarons.
Invented and made by Gautam Kaila, our very talented Head Pastry Chef in Bath, these sweet yet savoury macarons are a totally new eating experience.
First up is the Motcomb Macaron. Made with goat’s cheese and beetroot, it is inspired by the newly commissioned Motcomb goat cheese and has been created to mark the opening of our new shop.
The delicate cheese (made in Somerset, naturally) is paired with fresh beetroot in the filling. A hint of beetroot powder gives a stunning, deep beetroot colour to the crisp shell.
We also have the Bath Macaron that’s made with World Champion Cheese Bath Blue from our home town. We have worked with this family of farmers and cheese-makers for the 25 years we’ve been open.
The creamed Bath Blue is partnered with chives for a deeply savoury filling and the shell is decorated with poppy seeds and walnuts.
Our co-founder Ann-Marie Dyas
