Stinking Bishop
This cheese is not run of the mill. There's no doubt that Charles Martell has created a cheese of great distinction, smelly for sure! Think Pont-l'Évêque or Époisses, but with a delightful taste – sweetish and, despite what the smell might suggest, actually not overwhelmingly strong.
As well as making cheese, Martell has devoted himself to preserving old varieties of perry pear trees, one of which is called Stinking Bishop, so that's where the name comes from. Unsurprisingly, the cheese is washed in perry (fermented pear juice).
Stinking Bishop is available as a whole 500g cheese or as smaller cut pieces.
Pasteurised, vegetarian.
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Charles Martell
Charles Martell's enthusiasm for perry pears (i.e pears used to make perry, the pear juice equivalent to cider) led to his tracking down numerous old varieties and the creation of the first national collection. Later he started making cheese and he now produces produces fine Double and Single Gloucester. His best-known cheese, Stinking Bishop, brings these two interests together, since it's curds are washed in perry.
I warmed to Martell when he was interviewed on Radio 4's Today Programme about the likely impact of Stinking Bishop cropping up in the last Wallace and Gromit film. He said he didn't really want to sell more or he'd have to employ more people and that would mean building a bigger car park!
