Hafod Cheddar

Hafod is a traditional hard cheese, handmade by the Holden family from the milk given by their 65 Ayrshire cows. Ayrshire milk is rich in butterfat and protein, and is widely regarded as being ideally suited to cheese making. It is this unique combination of creamy organic Ayrshire milk and traditional cheese making techniques that give Hafod its buttery, rich and nutty flavours.

Patrick and Rebecca Holden’s farm can be found, if you are intrepid enough to try, on a remote, West Welsh hillside. As founder and CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust, which counts King Charles as one of its patrons, Patrick works tirelessly to promote the adoption of sustainable food and farming systems which nourish the health of both people and planet.  Meanwhile Rebecca is wedded to the farm and to her dairy cows. 

A more dedicated, empathetic and compassionate herdswoman, you will not meet and, as part of their farming system, newborn calves are kept, either with their mother, or a foster cow, for the first three months of their lives. 

She is both leader and friend to her cows and knows each one by name, as well as by their foibles, idiosyncrasies, and strengths.