{"title":"Artisan Cheese Award Winners 2026","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"hand-selected-kirkhams-lancashire","title":"Kirkham's Lancashire","description":"\u003cp\u003eGraham Kirkham makes his cheese at Goosnargh in Lancashire, and the milk for the cheese comes from the family’s own herd of Friesian cows.The cheese is made over two days, using a third of the curd from each day of cheesemaking. Kirkham's Lancashire is then cloth-bound and rubbed with the traditional butter, which allows the cheese to breathe and develop over a maturation period of two to six months.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Kirkhams have been making cheese for three generations; and Graham learned to make cheese from his mother, who now helps her husband to milk the cows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe family is the last maker of traditional Lancashire; and the two-day curd method comes from the days when farmers only had a few cows, and it would take two days to get enough curd to fill one cheese mould.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe flavour of the unpasteurised milk and the buttered muslin rind produces a rich and complex white Lancashire, which melts in the mouth. It also creates the desired ‘buttery crumble’, with a clean and lactic flavour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKirkham's Lancashire cheese can be used to create a connoisseurs' cheese on toast, because of how the cheese bubbles rather than melts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e* This is a hand-made, artisan cheese, which may contain naturally occurring blue veins. These are normal and intrinsic to the nature of this type of cheese and add to its character. We think they taste good too! \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*A whole Kirkham's Lancashire weighs approximately 9kg. Smaller weights are a cut of a whole cheese. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"275g","offer_id":52435452559624,"sku":"CCHA064","price":9.63,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"550g","offer_id":52435452526856,"sku":"CCHA064","price":19.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"1.1kg","offer_id":52435452494088,"sku":"CCHA064","price":38.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/240305_finecheese_mrskirkham_s_013-1_1.jpg?v=1755856146"},{"product_id":"raedwald","title":"Raedwald","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a decade of making their superb Brie-style Baron Bigod, Fen Farm has taken on another giant of French soft cheesemaking.\u003cbr\u003eInspired by Reblochon, they have created this new seasonal cheese which will be made from January until March to take advantage of the surplus of high fat winter milk.\u003cbr\u003eIt is named after the 7th Century Anglo-Saxon King, Rædwald, whose last resting place is thought to be the astonishing burial ship at nearby Sutton Hoo.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"Quarter (Average 250g)","offer_id":52435460161800,"sku":"CCSF007","price":9.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/241029_finecheese_raedwaldsolo_297_b.jpg?v=1755856201"},{"product_id":"sinodun-hill","title":"Sinodun Hill","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of 'Gold' at the World Cheese Awards 2018\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSinodun Hill cheese is sweet, almondy and complex, with a thin, beautifully wrinkly coat that develops natural spots of blues, greys and greens over time. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is made by Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow, who only decided to become cheese-makers in 2014. Fraser worked in Project Management and Rachel was a teacher, but they felt a yearning for a different way of life. Such momentous changes take time to bring to fruition, but, in February 2016, they were ready to welcome their first goats to the barn that they had rented at Earth Trust Farm, a charity which helps people start up new agricultural businesses through a Farm Step scheme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the very beginning their standards were high, and their ambition has paid off. They looked to the great goats’ cheeses of France for inspiration, and have chosen a very slow, lactic set recipe, which preserves the flavour of the milk. They toyed with using no rennet at all but were not happy with the results, and have settled instead on using a tiny amount of French thistle rennet coagulant. This makes for a fabulous texture: smooth and rich, mouth-filling, but never cloying or claggy. All in all, a truly lovely cheese!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the start of 2025, Fraser and Rachel moved their home, family, dairy and 241 goats to their very own farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Once they got their goats settled in it was kidding time, and now their first Welsh cheeses are ready to be released. And they were worth the wait! These bright, fresh, zesty cheeses are light in texture and perfect for Spring.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Norton \u0026 Yarrow","offers":[{"title":"200g","offer_id":52254700306696,"sku":"CGSF027","price":14.45,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/230215_finecheese_sinodunhill_13_b.jpg?v=1755856214"},{"product_id":"st-helena","title":"St Helena","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*A whole St. Helena weighs approximately 1.2kg. Smaller weights are a cut of a whole cheese. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"200g","offer_id":52435456426248,"sku":"CCSF141","price":8.94,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"400g","offer_id":52435456393480,"sku":"CCSF141","price":17.88,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"1.2kg","offer_id":57776499949832,"sku":"CCSF141","price":53.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/240305_finecheese_sthelen_013.jpg?v=1755856220"},{"product_id":"st-jude","title":"St Jude","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of 'Gold' at the World Cheese Awards 2018\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSt. Jude is made by Julie Cheyney in Norfolk, from the milk of the same Montbeliarde herd that provides the milk for Jonny Crickmore’s Baron Bigod. \u003cbr\u003eJulie first started making cheese in 2005, when she and Stacey Hedges created Tunworth. After only one year, the pair were delighted to become Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards: a justly deserved accolade but a very rare one in such a young cheese-making business. \u003cbr\u003eJulie and Stacey parted ways, and, in 2012, Julie set up her own dairy in Hampshire where she began to make St. Jude. \u003cbr\u003eJulie is so concerned about the quality of her milk that, when she heard on a Radio 4 programme about the work that Jonny Crickmore was doing at Fen Farm, she had to investigate further. Once Julie had got to know more about the Crickmores, she took the decision to move her business and life from Hampshire to Norfolk, in pursuit of the best milk that she could find. \u003cbr\u003eJulie uses the milk, still warm, from the first cows into the dairy parlour, to be transformed into this delicate, rich, dense and creamy cheese. She believes that cheese should be made slowly and gently, and so every step in the process of producing this lactic set cheese is performed by hand. The cheese is worth the wait: a thin, wrinkled coat, sometimes with a delicate cream line underneath, encases the rich core. The taste is delicate but complex, with a lingering finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e* This cheese is made with flavour rather than appearance as the paramount consideration. Because the coat is kept deliberately thin, other moulds can appear. The creamy coloured surface is created by geotrichum and the blue, green and grey spots that can often appear are other wild penicillium. They are perfectly safe to eat and do not mar the flavour of the cheese.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"90g","offer_id":52254702764296,"sku":"CCSF014","price":9.55,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/210222_finecheese_stjude_007_1.jpg?v=1755856220"},{"product_id":"witheridge-in-hay","title":"Witheridge in Hay","description":"\u003cp id=\"NWNC6GM\"\u003e*A whole Witheridge in Hay weighs approximately 2.2kg-2.7kg. Smaller weights are a cut of a whole cheese. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"220g","offer_id":52435453346056,"sku":"CCHA403","price":10.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"440g","offer_id":52435453313288,"sku":"CCHA403","price":21.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/240305_finecheese_witheridge_014-1.jpg?v=1755856273"},{"product_id":"killeen","title":"Killeen","description":"\u003cstyle\u003e#html-body [data-pb-style=HFG5R69]{display:flex;flex-direction:column}\u003c\/style\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-element=\"main\" data-appearance=\"contained\" data-content-type=\"row\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-pb-style=\"HFG5R69\" data-element=\"inner\" data-video-fallback-src=\"\" data-video-lazy-load=\"true\" data-video-play-only-visible=\"true\" data-video-loop=\"true\" data-background-type=\"image\" data-background-images=\"{}\" data-parallax-speed=\"0.5\" data-enable-parallax=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-element=\"main\" data-appearance=\"default\" data-content-type=\"text\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAfter falling in love with Ireland, Marion Roeleweld left her native Holland for a Galway farm and its 200 Saanen goats. Killeen is made to a Dutch Gouda recipe, adapted to suit the Irish \u003ci\u003eterroir\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"250g","offer_id":52560313811208,"sku":"CGHA003","price":11.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/CGHA003killeen.jpg?v=1758874063"},{"product_id":"sparkenhoe-shropshire-blue-nvi","title":"Sparkenhoe Shropshire Blue","description":"\u003cstyle\u003e#html-body [data-pb-style=BUSR9UM]{display:flex;flex-direction:column}\u003c\/style\u003e\u003cdiv data-content-type=\"row\" data-appearance=\"contained\" data-element=\"main\"\u003e\u003cdiv data-enable-parallax=\"0\" data-parallax-speed=\"0.5\" data-background-images=\"{}\" data-background-type=\"image\" data-video-loop=\"true\" data-video-play-only-visible=\"true\" data-video-lazy-load=\"true\" data-video-fallback-src=\"\" data-element=\"inner\" data-pb-style=\"BUSR9UM\"\u003e\u003cdiv data-content-type=\"text\" data-appearance=\"default\" data-element=\"main\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJo and David Clarke have built an enviable reputation for making the only raw milk, clothbound, farmhouse Red Leicester in the UK.  Now their son, Will, has returned to the family farm to take up the challenge of making the UK’s only raw milk Shropshire Blue. Will makes this to the same recipe as his Sparkenhoe Blue, but adds annatto to the milk, just as they do for their Sparkenhoe Red Leicester. This gives the cheese its glorious colour. The paste ranges from a blush, peach tone to a deeper hue next to the blue veins, as the curd begins to break down. The taste is buttery and mellow with a gentle spice to finish.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*A whole Sparkenhoe Shropshire Blue weighs approximately 8kg. Smaller weights are a cut of a whole cheese. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Fine Cheese Co.","offers":[{"title":"250g","offer_id":57698736668936,"sku":"CCBL036","price":10.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"500g","offer_id":57698736701704,"sku":"CCBL036","price":20.98,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"1kg","offer_id":57698736734472,"sku":"CCBL036","price":41.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/files\/20200210_fcc-cat_shropshireblue_44_b__ofjnexyfdgyix1yp.jpg?v=1756983698"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/1049\/8568\/collections\/75B51A90-D7BF-47D8-B643-1064C3475987_1_201_a.jpg?v=1779976637","url":"https:\/\/www.finecheese.co.uk\/collections\/artisan-cheese-award-winners-2026.oembed","provider":"The Fine Cheese Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}