The Cheese Shed Cakebuilder

This log-shaped soft goat's cheese with an ash coating and a geotrichum rind is from Somerset's White Lake Cheese. Matured for 2-3 weeks, then ready for you! Each cheese weighs around 200g. There's also a pyramid-shaped version: Tor.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Made by the Lubborn Creamery in Somerset, Capricorn has a delicate, velvety, soft white coat. When young it is mild, crumbly and has a nutty flavour. As it ripens, the white curd becomes softer and creamier, and develops a fuller flavour.

Please note: we don't keep the 1kg square version of this in as a regular stock item, so if you want one, do try to give us a good week's notice.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

From Somerset's Whitelake Cheese comes this delightful little soft sheeps' milk cheese. Featuring the typical downy rind you'd associate with a brie or a camembert, it will become softer and with a richer flavour as it ages.

Vegetarian, Unpasteurised, 140g.

Made by White Lake Cheese in Somerset, this is a particularly special washed rind cheese which brings together the extra-creaminess of milk from Guernsey cows with Somerset Cider Brandy - used to wash the rind as the cheese matures. Each one weighs about 200g.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A miniature brie made by Curds & Croust in Liskeard, Cornwall, where the cheesemaker is Martin Gaylard. Martin's father John used to make cheeses from the brie family, too - so cheesemaking must be in his blood. Made with all Cornish milk from within 30 miles of the dairy. Each cheese weighs around 165g.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Eve is a cute little beauty of a cheese. Made by Pete Humphries of Somerset's White Lake Cheese, this small and meltingly soft goat's cheese is washed in Somerset Cider Brandy and then wrapped in vine leaves. Pete drew on the character of the French Epoisses in devising the cheese. Each one weighs about 140g.

For another soft, washed rind cheese, try Stinking Bishop (if you're brave enough).

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

A fabulous cheese! In its distinctive purple wax, Godminster Organic Cheddar is a powerful cheese with a real edge to it - wow! Made near Bruton in Somerset, it also comes in a heart-shaped version.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Firm goat's cheese washed with Somerset Cider Brandy, made by Pete Humphries of Somerset's White Lake Cheese.

Formerly available in two sizes, this is now only made as a small whole cheese of around 250g.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian.

This little 200g brie is made with the same delicious organic Guernsey milk which White Lake use for Solstice and Morn Dew. The dairy has brought all their many years of experience with soft cheese to create this beautiful mild, creamy brie.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Godminster's stroke of genius has been to make a heart shaped version of their fabulous Organic Vintage Cheddar. This comes in two sizes - seen above - 400g or 200g.

We also have the regular, round version of Godminster, which you can see here.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Alastair Rogers and his Cornwall-based Treveador Farm Dairy have cleverly found a real niche for themselves by specialising in soft cheeses: his Helford White, Helford Blue and Helford Sunrise have been a real success. Now they are joined by the 200g Helford Camembert, which becomes the only truly artisan camembert to be made west of Bristol.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Treveador Dairy's cheeses were originally made by Alastair Rogers and Bernadette Newman on a farm which ran down to the banks of the Helford River, but are now made in Helston.

Full Moon (formerly Helford White) is a soft, somewhat squelchy washed rind cheese. Rind washing is the technique which creates the colour, tangy flavour and aromatic whiff.

This is an especially attractive thing with its apricot/pink rind. The Cheese Shed hasn't been overflowing with soft cheeses of this type, so we're delighted to see it here; and if you like the sound of this, take a look at their other cheese, the superb soft blue, Blue Moon. There's a whole 1kg cheese from which we can cut smaller pieces, or the small whole version which weighs in at around 200g.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Treveador Farm Dairy specialise in very distinctive soft cheeses. This cheese (formerly known as Helford Blue) is a real favourite of ours - disctinctive in taste and appearance!

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A powerful modern-style cheddar made in north Wales by the Snowdonia Cheese Company. Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A soft, fresh cheese, Pepperdon is made in South Devon specially for The Cheese Shed. Fresh cheeses like this are made very quickly - ready to eat in about a day - so they're always mild, very soft in texture and have no rind. Pepperdon features crushed black peppercorns and a hint of garlic; the use of Jersey cow's milk makes it particularly creamy. There are also two related cheeses: Parke and Drogo. Each one weighs about 250g.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

NB: Pepperdon is a small settlement in the Wray valley just north of Bovey Tracey, where we're based.

A soft, fresh cheese, Parke is made in South Devon specially for The Cheese Shed. Fresh cheeses like this are made very quickly - ready to eat in about a day - so they're always mild, very soft in texture and have no rind. Parke has been rolled in mixed herbs and also features a hint of garlic; the use of Jersey cow's milk makes it particularly creamy. See also its two sister cheeses: Pepperdon and Drogo. Each one weighs around 250g.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

NB: Parke is an estate just on the edge of Bovey Tracey, where The Cheese Shed is based. The big house at Parke is now the headquarters of the Dartmoor National Park.

From the Sharpham estate in South Devon, this is a slight variation on the lovely Sharpham Rustic, flavoured with chives and garlic. Rustic is a cheese that looks and tastes wonderful. Experiments have proved that a piece of Sharpham Rustic left on our kitchen table will last only about 27 seconds before being eaten by a passing resident.

Don't forget to check out the other Sharpham Cheeses: their Brie is excellent, and Elmhirst is just pure luxury!

Unpasteurised, vegetarian 

The Book and Bucket dairy from Wimborne in Dorset makes a wide range of different cheeses inlcuding several made with sheeps' milk. Here's Shakespeare, a beautiful soft cheese with a bloomy white rind.

Pasteurised, vegetarian, 150g.

The latest cheese from Graham Padfield of Park Farm, near Bath is this washed rind cheese based on Wyfe Of Bath. Unlike that cheese, however, this one is pressed after making to remove moisture and create a more dense texture. The maturing cheese is then repeatedly washed in cider made on the farm. The result is a very pungent, sticky-rinded and very colourful cheese which is a great addition to our range!

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Treveador Farm Dairy specialise in very distinctive soft cheeses. This cheese (formerly known as Helford Blue) is a real favourite of ours - disctinctive in taste and appearance!

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Rich and creamy with a soft, edible white rind. As the cheese matures the curd softens, turning to a butter or straw colour and developing a fuller flavour. From the same maker, see Cricket St Thomas Brie.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Also sold at Fortnum & Mason and top cheese retailers Paxton & Whitfield, so if you assumed that this cheese from Sue Proudfoot of Whalesborough Farm in Bude, Cornwall, has real character and quality, you'd be right! Based on her Miss Muffet, but with a rind washed in local cider, it is pungent, earthy and soft.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

From Rachel Stephens of Stockbeare Farm in North Devon, this is a full fat hard cheese based on a traditional 17th century recipe. Available in a black wax. Devon Oke is the same cheese, but matured for longer; Belstone is the vegetarian version.

Curworthy with a little something extra is represented by Dartmoor Chilli, Simply Cumin or Meldon.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

We've gradually added more of the cheeses made by Rachel Stephens of Stockbeare in North Devon.  Rachel is best known for Curworthy and Devon Oke, but makes a number of other cheeses. Meldon, which features the addition of English mustard and ale, comes yellow-waxed.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Allergy advice: contains MUSTARD and beer which contains BARLEY (GLUTEN).

Ford Farm's Cave Aged Cheddar is made in their dairy in Dorset, but matured in the unique environment of Somerset's Wookey Hole cave. Maturing cheese in caves is nothing new in France - Roquefort has been matured in the caves of Combalou mountain for centuries - but Ford Farm's Mike Pullin was the first to do it here.

Mike is convinced that the cave environment has given his cheese a different dimension. The natural moulds grow faster in the high humidity and this has a mellowing effect. The precise contribution of Wookey Hole may be hard to pin down, but this is certainly a welcome addition to the Westcountry cheddar scene.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian

New for 2022. Sharpham have taken the best part of a year to develop this camembert, marking 40 years of cheesemaking by the banks of the River Dart - and of course nodding stylistically to the dairy's groundbreaking original cheese, Sharpham Brie. 

The camembert uses different starter cultures that tend to produce a flavour with brassica notes rather than the more mushroomy brie. It's also made in such a way that it retains more moisture, making for a softer and faster-ripening cheese. Each one weighs around 250g.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Godminster's stroke of genius has been to make a heart shaped version of their fabulous Organic Vintage Cheddar. This comes in two sizes - seen above - 400g or 200g.

We also have the regular, round version of Godminster, which you can see here.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

A fabulous cheese! In its distinctive purple wax, Godminster Organic Cheddar is a powerful cheese with a real edge to it - wow! Made near Bruton in Somerset, it also comes in a heart-shaped version.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Pete Humphries worked for Bath Soft Cheese before setting up White Lake Cheeses, based near Glastonbury Tor in Somerset. Pete's range of handmade cheeses uses milk from a 600-strong herd of goats. White Nancy - a sweet and creamy cheese with a white, bloomy rind - was the first one we stocked in the Cheese Shed. As the photo shows, these beautiful small truckles (about 4" across and 3" high) have a fabulous texture. Each whole cheese weighs about 500g.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Since this is made in Hampshire, it’s officially a bit outside our area, but we’re bending the rules because Tunworth is a Camembert style cheese in a class of its own. In fact Raymond Blanc has called it “the best Camembert in the world”, which is some accolade! I tried this back in about 2007 when it had just come out and thought it was good then. In the intervening time its reputation has only grown, and since the Westcountry doesn’t have an equivalent, here it is!

In traditional Camembert style, Tunworth is supplied in its own wooden box.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

Ford Farm's Cave Aged Cheddar is made in their dairy in Dorset, but matured in the unique environment of Somerset's Wookey Hole cave. Maturing cheese in caves is nothing new in France - Roquefort has been matured in the caves of Combalou mountain for centuries - but Ford Farm's Mike Pullin was the first to do it here.

Mike is convinced that the cave environment has given his cheese a different dimension. The natural moulds grow faster in the high humidity and this has a mellowing effect. The precise contribution of Wookey Hole may be hard to pin down, but this is certainly a welcome addition to the Westcountry cheddar scene.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian

Ford Farm's Cave Aged Cheddar is made in their dairy in Dorset, but matured in the unique environment of Somerset's Wookey Hole cave. Maturing cheese in caves is nothing new in France - Roquefort has been matured in the caves of Combalou mountain for centuries - but Ford Farm's Mike Pullin was the first to do it here.

Mike is convinced that the cave environment has given his cheese a different dimension. The natural moulds grow faster in the high humidity and this has a mellowing effect. The precise contribution of Wookey Hole may be hard to pin down, but this is certainly a welcome addition to the Westcountry cheddar scene.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian

A moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles. A great-looking, great-tasting and unique cheese. Full wheels of Yarg weigh in at 3kg, but the Baby Yarg is also available - a small truckle of around 900g. Complete wheels of Yarg look fantastic - we often seem to use them for our cheese wedding cakes to great effect, as one of the lower layers.

If you know Yarg in this version - the most common - why not have a look at Wild Garlic Yarg, where the nettles are replaced by wild garlic leaves?  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

This 800g ewe's milk cheese from White Lake Dairy shares its recipe with the goat's milk Rachel. A sweet, nutty and hard-ish cheese, it has its rind washed in brine as it matures. Sheep Rustler was awarded the massive accolade of Supreme Champion at the 2018 British Cheese Awards.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

NB: The first batch of the cheese was made by a man called Russell, hence the name.

A moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles. A great-looking, great-tasting and unique cheese. Full wheels of Yarg weigh in at 3kg, but the Baby Yarg is also available - a small truckle of around 900g. Complete wheels of Yarg look fantastic - we often seem to use them for our cheese wedding cakes to great effect, as one of the lower layers.

If you know Yarg in this version - the most common - why not have a look at Wild Garlic Yarg, where the nettles are replaced by wild garlic leaves?  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A moist cheese with a fresh, clean taste. Here the covering is not nettles - as per 'normal' Cornish Yarg - but naturally grown wild garlic leaves. Think Caerphilly in a dark green overcoat. 

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Gouda is the Netherlands' great contribution to European cheese, and this sweet, mellow cheese has been famous since the 12th century. Now a Dutch family has begun making it near Polruan in south east Cornwall.

At six months old, this version is classed as 'semi-mature' - it has a little bit of a kick, but remains creamy. Generally this is supplied as wedges cut from very large cheeses; the exception is a 'mini' 1kg version, which is a whole cheese.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

**Please note! If you want the 'small whole truckle (around 1kg)' we might need a bit of notice: try to allow us two weeks if you want one of these.**

I first encountered this cheese from Sharpham at their open day. It's a washed curd cheese (the method associated with Dutch cheeses), but most excitingly it mixes Sharpham's own Jersey cow's milk with goat's milk.

These mixed milk cheeses are rare. The late lamented Menallack dairy made several, all of which were good - as is this. In fact we think it's really special - see if you agree. And don't forget to try the version with added Caraway Seeds!

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Colston Bassett is made in the heart of 'Stilton country' (stretching across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire): an area famous for cheese for two and a half centuries. The dairy was founded in 1920, and makes one of the most famous Stiltons available today, described as "creamy but not too moist, the blue deep and powerful ... the cheese itself distinctive, with a strong herbal almost spicy flavour."

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

There aren't too many handmade cheeses with added cream in the UK, but this may be one of the best.  Similar to a Vignotte, it has a surprisingly light texture and delicate flavour if eaten young (2-3 weeks). Alternatively, if matured for 4-6 weeks it becomes more rich and full bodied. Like Rustic, this is made on the Sharpham estate in South Devon. It comes as a 900g cheese, or as a small 300g square.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

'Brie with a bite' is what cheesemaker Rachel Stephens was aiming for when she started to make this - her first soft cheese - around 2016. Originally a response to all her market and food festival customers who asked for a soft cheese, it became a source of interest and fascination as the recipe was tweaked and refined over the years. Rachel sees it as having a flavour that goes in the camembert direction; the vermiculated surface texture is also a characteristic. Like all cheeses of this type, it will become softer and with a more developed flavour if kept for a while.

One other thing - it's a slightly unusual size. Whereas this type of cheese tends to be 100mm/4in OR 200mm/8in across, this is 150mm/6in, and quite deep, top to bottom. A whole cheese is around 650g.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

From Rachel Stephens of Stockbeare Farm in North Devon, this is a full fat hard cheese based on a traditional 17th century recipe. Available in a black wax. Devon Oke is the same cheese, but matured for longer; Belstone is the vegetarian version.

Curworthy with a little something extra is represented by Dartmoor Chilli, Simply Cumin or Meldon.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

From Stockbeare Farm in North Devon, this cheese is related to Curworthy and Devon Oke. Essentially it's the vegetarian member of the family (with Devon Oke the more mature one), but all three are full fat, hard cow's milk cheeses based on a traditional 17th century recipe.

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

We've gradually added more of the cheeses made by Rachel Stephens of Stockbeare in North Devon.  Rachel is best known for Curworthy and Devon Oke, but makes a number of other cheeses. Meldon, which features the addition of English mustard and ale, comes yellow-waxed.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Allergy advice: contains MUSTARD and beer which contains BARLEY (GLUTEN).

Also sold at Fortnum & Mason and top cheese retailers Paxton & Whitfield, so if you assumed that this cheese from Sue Proudfoot of Whalesborough Farm in Bude, Cornwall, has real character and quality, you'd be right! Based on her Miss Muffet, but with a rind washed in local cider, it is pungent, earthy and soft.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Sue Proudfoot's first cheese was Trelawney - a traditional cheddar-style cheese, matured for a relatively short six weeks. Now she's created a red-orange veined version called Cornish Smuggler.  

Annatto - the same vegetable dye used in Red Leicester and Double Gloucester - is added as the curds are placed in moulds. The result is a unique and super-attractive cheese which will look great on the cheeseboard.

Other cheeses using annatto are Westcombe Red and Smart's Double Gloucester.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

This is the famous mild blue cheese made near Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. It's a whole wheel which cut from a 2kg cheese, giving you about 666g. Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A fabulous cheese! In its distinctive purple wax, Godminster Organic Cheddar is a powerful cheese with a real edge to it - wow! Made near Bruton in Somerset, it also comes in a heart-shaped version.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

This wheel of Cornish Blue is cut down from a 2kg truckle, giving a 1kg wheel half the height of the original cheese.

Note: some cheeses develop a pink-brown appearance when cut. This is just an aspect of this particular cheese and nothing to worry about.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

'Rich', 'mellow', 'powerful', 'earthy, almost smoky' are all terms that have been used to describe this cheese and you won't find anyone here to disagree. Cheese fact: the orangey colour of Double Gloucester is produced by the vegetable dye annatto. Cheeses like Westcombe Red and Shropshire Blue get their colour the same way.

In November 2007 Diana was shortlisted (one of four) for the Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards - the 'Best Producer' Award. A great accolade! And she also makes the less common Single Gloucester - we sell that too, of course.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian

Diana is the Queen of Double Gloucester, but also has another cheese up her sleeve (so to speak). Single Goucester is another hard cow's cheese but without the red annato colouring used in the Double.  It also matures more quickly, but its real distinguishing feature is the use of skimmed milk. Evening milk is left overnight and then skimmed. This is then mixed with the next morning's whole milk, and the result is lighter - both in texture and taste - than its more-well known sibling. A cheese that's a little off the beaten track, and well worth trying!

Unpasteurised, vegetarian

Designed to be eaten as a young cheese, Cornish Blue is a very different product from traditional English blue cheeses such as Stilton or Dorset Blue Vinny.

On the soft side of firm, it's also at the milder end of the flavour spectrum. Cornish Blue is made by Philip and Carol Stansfield with milk from their own farm which sits on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

This cheese had a great moment in the spotlight when it was judged Supreme Champion at the 2010 World Cheese Awards - this led to newspaper headlines saying 'Cornish Blue Is The Best Cheese In The World'!

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Note: some cheeses develop a pink-brown appearance when cut. This is just an aspect of this particular cheese and nothing to worry about.

A fabulous cheese! In its distinctive purple wax, Godminster Organic Cheddar is a powerful cheese with a real edge to it - wow! Made near Bruton in Somerset, it also comes in a heart-shaped version.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

The Quicke family from Devon has been making cheese on the same farm just north of Exeter for over 450 years! All their cheddar is matured slowly, wrapped in muslin cloth, to develop a real depth and complexity of flavour. For the smoked cheddar they start with a well-flavoured cheddar matured for 12-15 months. The truckles are cut into 1.5kg pieces - to ensure that the flavour infuses right through the cheese - and then smoked over oak shavings for 3-4 hours.

Pasteurised. Uses vegetarian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

This version of this famous cheddar is matured for 12 months. It's made by Mary Quicke and her team at Newton St Cyres, north of Exeter.

Pasteurised, uses vegetarian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

The Quickes' distinctive take on Red Leicester. A fresher cheese than traditional cheddar, their Devonshire Red retains a nuttiness, combined with a lemony creaminess and a glorious crumbly texture.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

This is wheel is all Quicke's Cheddar, but made up of two separate half-moon pieces. Half is their mature cheddar (12 months matured), half is smoked. You simply push the two pieces together to make a complete wheel. There are two sizes: large (about 4kg) and small (about 1.8kg)

Large: diameter 25cm, height 7cm (approximate).

Small: diameter 17cm, height 6cm (approximate).

Pasteurised, uses vegeterian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

A wheel made up of four quarters of Quicke's cheese. The four quarters are Quicke's Cheddar, Oak-Smoked Cheddar, their hard goat's cheese and Devonshire Red (a 'red leicester'). Total weight should be around 1.8kg. Note that there may be some small height differences between the pieces.

Diameter 17cm, height 6cm (approximate).

This creamy textured, semi-hard ewe's milk cheese has a beautifully well-rounded and nutty but relatively subtle flavour - and an eye-catching yellow rind. English Pecorino is a multi-award-winning cheese that is most definitely a crowd favourite. Matured for 5 months.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Guinevere is a new cheese from the long-standing partnership of Phil Rainbow and Anita Reynolds - Somerset Cheese Company. 

Borrowing from the approach used in creating manchego - but using rich, creamy buffalo milk - it is conceived as a dense but not too hard cheese, less acidic than their Pendragon - sweeter, nuttier.

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

INTRODUCTORY PRICE!

From the first batch of Guinevere - which arrived here in September 2022 - we're keeping the price down for the moment to encourage people to try it. All feedback will be passed on to the makers.

A moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles. A great-looking, great-tasting and unique cheese. Full wheels of Yarg weigh in at 3kg, but the Baby Yarg is also available - a small truckle of around 900g. Complete wheels of Yarg look fantastic - we often seem to use them for our cheese wedding cakes to great effect, as one of the lower layers.

If you know Yarg in this version - the most common - why not have a look at Wild Garlic Yarg, where the nettles are replaced by wild garlic leaves?  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

As the name suggests, this was originally a Welsh cheese, but there's quite a history of Caerphilly making on the south side of the Bristol Channel. Favoured by miners in days gone by, it can also be enjoyed above ground! A young cheese (it could have left the dairy at only four days old), it has a lemony flavour and yielding texture. Caerphilly melts beautifully: ideal for your Welsh Rarebit.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

The Book & Bucket Cheese Company was formed in Dorset in 2019, specialising in sheep's milk cheeses, using milk from farms local to their base in Wimborne. 

This nine-month matured hard cheese has a nutty sweetness and has been likened to a mature manchego.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles. A great-looking, great-tasting and unique cheese. Full wheels of Yarg weigh in at 3kg, but the Baby Yarg is also available - a small truckle of around 900g. Complete wheels of Yarg look fantastic - we often seem to use them for our cheese wedding cakes to great effect, as one of the lower layers.

If you know Yarg in this version - the most common - why not have a look at Wild Garlic Yarg, where the nettles are replaced by wild garlic leaves?  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

As the name suggests, this was originally a Welsh cheese, but there's quite a history of Caerphilly making on the south side of the Bristol Channel. Favoured by miners in days gone by, it can also be enjoyed above ground! A young cheese (it could have left the dairy at only four days old), it has a lemony flavour and yielding texture. Caerphilly melts beautifully: ideal for your Welsh Rarebit.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A moist cheese with a fresh, clean taste. Here the covering is not nettles - as per 'normal' Cornish Yarg - but naturally grown wild garlic leaves. Think Caerphilly in a dark green overcoat. 

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Somerset's Chris Duckett was one of the pioneer artisan cheese makers. A real specialist, he concentrated on a superb Caerphilly. But there are several versions of this! Wedmore has a line of chives running through the middle, and this is Smoked Wedmore - which is therefore a sort of double variation on the basic cheese.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

The Book & Bucket Cheese Company was formed in Dorset in 2019, specialising in sheep's milk cheeses, using milk from farms local to their base in Wimborne. 

This nine-month matured hard cheese has a nutty sweetness and has been likened to a mature manchego.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A powerful modern-style cheddar made in north Wales by the Snowdonia Cheese Company. Pasteurised, vegetarian.

The first Westcountry artisan cheese that we came across to feature added chilli, this cheese brings together the talents of cheese maker Rachel Stephens and the Dartmoor Chili farm, based near Ashburton in Devon. We think Rachel's sweet, mild Curworthy cheese is ideal for this, which uses the red 'Ring of Fire' variety (a type of cayenne, I'm told).

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

An excellent blue cow's cheese with a moist, slightly crumbly texture.  Made by Robin Congdon, of Ticklemore Cheese, on his farm by the banks of the River Dart.  He's a real blue cheese specialist!  Check out his related Harbourne Blue (goat) and Beenleigh Blue (sheep). 

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Powerful blue goat's cheese with a creamy, melting texture. Made by Ben Harris who took over from Robin Congdon, this is one of the superb family of Ticklemore cheeses that includes Devon and Beenleigh Blues. Robin used to also make Ticklemore goat's cheese, but this has now been handed over to the neighbouring Sharpham dairy.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Slightly crumbly, with tiny, bubbly holes. This is a rich, sweet blue ewe's milk cheese that people just rave about! 

It's made by Robin Congdon of Ticklemore Cheese in South Devon, and if you like blue cheese (of course you do!), you might like to check out Harbourne Blue (goat) and Devon Blue (cow) from the same dairy.  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A ewe's milk cheese made in the cheddar style by Phil Rainbow, and a very striking thing it is too. Fosse Way Fleece is a pearly white, with a wonderfully silky smooth texture and clean taste. We often recommend this to people who are unfamilar with ewe's milk cheeses and it rarely fails to win them over.

Fosse Way? The famous Roman Road of Fosse Way runs close to the village of Ditcheat, where the Somerset Cheese Company is based.

AND! In the photo it's shown as unrinded but these days we sell it in a version with rind.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

A powerful modern-style cheddar made in north Wales by the Snowdonia Cheese Company. Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Ewe's milk cheese in the cheddar style from Phil Rainbow of the Somerset Cheese Company - supplied with the rind on.

Pasturised, vegetarian

A half-and-half wheel featuring two closely related cheeses from the great Devon blue cheese specialists, Ticklemore Cheese. You get: one half-moon shaped piece of Devon Blue (cow) and a half-moon of Harbourne Blue (goat). Vive la difference! About 1.7kg cheese in all.

Vegetarian.

For over 30 years Curworthy Cheese has been based near Okehampton in north Devon. Milk comes fresh each morning, straight after milking, from a single herd based at Dunstaple Farm near Holsworthy.

Makers Rachel Stevens and Richard Church make a range of cheeses including several flavoured vaviations on the original Curworthy recipe. Chipple, which comes in a green wax, uses chopped spring onions (an old Devon name for which is chipple).

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

Flavouring cheese with cumin seeds is something we associate with Holland, where cumin-flavoured Gouda is sold as Komijnekaas. Many years ago I fell for this type of cheese in a big way whilst working over there, so I was delighted to learn that North Devon's Rachel Stephens has now given Curworthy the same treatment. It's unusual, and a real treat!

Pasteurised, vegetarian
 

The first Westcountry artisan cheese that we came across to feature added chilli, this cheese brings together the talents of cheese maker Rachel Stephens and the Dartmoor Chili farm, based near Ashburton in Devon. We think Rachel's sweet, mild Curworthy cheese is ideal for this, which uses the red 'Ring of Fire' variety (a type of cayenne, I'm told).

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Classic French Camembert.

Cornish Brie has a delicious mild and creamy flavour and melting, smooth texture. The rich and creamy Cornish milk gives it a characteristic yellow, buttery colour.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

The Sharpham dairy is based on the Sharpham estate on the banks of the River Dart just south of Totnes in Devon.  

This is one of the cheese family known as 'mould-ripened', and it's best thought of as Sharpham's take on brie: they were one of the first UK makers to make this style of cheese, and this creamy marvel must still rank as one of the best.

Comes as a 1kg cheese which we can cut into smaller pieces, or as a small 300g square.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

Cheese Shed favourites White Lake Cheese, from Somerset, make a number of washed rind cheeses. Rachel is a goat's milk version, whilst Morn Dew uses cow's milk.

White Lake's Pete Humphries says that "Rachel was named after a friend of mine - like the cheese she is sweet, curvy and slightly nutty". I'd add that anything made by the people who make White Nancy has to be highly recommended!

Unpasteurised, vegetarian.

We're very pleased with this. It's a north Devon-made cheese which the dairy generally sells at five months old, but which we mature - on the wooden shelves in our shop - to ten months, at which point it has developed a beautiful big glow of flavour.

It takes its name from a local landmark - the mile-long straight road along which most people approach our town. In a way the cheese is 'straight' in that it's a hard cow's milk cheese with no gimmicks. Not a cheddar, it would nonetheless take the place of one on a cheeseboard, and whilst it lacks the acidic edge that draws people to cheddar, it makes up for it with other dimensions of flavour!

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

An old Dorset recipe which had almost died out until Michael Davies revived it! This delightful, slightly crumbly blue cheese has a pleasantly soft taste. Made from semi-skimmed milk, it's also low in fat. In 1998, they were the first food producer to be awarded PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status in the UK and are the only producers of Dorset Blue Vinny.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Bath Blue is a creamy, smooth blue cheese with evenly-spaced blue veins and a characteristic clean aroma - it's the only organic blue to be listed by The Cheese Shed.

Organic, pasteurised, not vegetarian.

This is Curworthy's Devon Oke, only smoked. Devon Smoake, geddit? So: what we have here is a sweet, supple-textured cheese matured for six months, then smoked over oak chips. All Rachel Stephens' cheeses use a washed curd technique which lowers acidity - so if you're looking for a sweeter alternative to a smoked cheddar, this might be the thing.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

This is a way of creating a layer of blue cheese that offers a little more variety - by using two half-moon pieces, one of Colston Bassett Stilton, one of Dorset Blue Vinny. Just push them together to make a complete wheel of about 2kg.

Diameter 21cm, height 6cm (approximate).

Both cheeses are vegetarian and pasteurised.

Colston Bassett is made in the heart of 'Stilton country' (stretching across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire): an area famous for cheese for two and a half centuries. The dairy was founded in 1920, and makes one of the most famous Stiltons available today, described as "creamy but not too moist, the blue deep and powerful ... the cheese itself distinctive, with a strong herbal almost spicy flavour."

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Colston Bassett is made in the heart of 'Stilton country' (stretching across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire): an area famous for cheese for two and a half centuries. The dairy was founded in 1920, and makes one of the most famous Stiltons available today, described as "creamy but not too moist, the blue deep and powerful ... the cheese itself distinctive, with a strong herbal almost spicy flavour."

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

An old Dorset recipe which had almost died out until Michael Davies revived it! This delightful, slightly crumbly blue cheese has a pleasantly soft taste. Made from semi-skimmed milk, it's also low in fat. In 1998, they were the first food producer to be awarded PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status in the UK and are the only producers of Dorset Blue Vinny.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Bath Blue is a creamy, smooth blue cheese with evenly-spaced blue veins and a characteristic clean aroma - it's the only organic blue to be listed by The Cheese Shed.

Organic, pasteurised, not vegetarian.

Bath Blue is a creamy, smooth blue cheese with evenly-spaced blue veins and a characteristic clean aroma - it's the only organic blue to be listed by The Cheese Shed.

Organic, pasteurised, not vegetarian.

Cranborne Blue is the first blue cheese made by the energetic Book & Bucket Cheese Company, based just outside Wimborne in Dorset. It came out of a partnership with a local farm that was struggling to sell its milk during the lockdown period in 2020.

This blue has an oaty sweetness in the taste with a salty, but very gentle, edge from the blue veining. The rind gives an earthy counter note without overpowering the subtlety of the more delicate flavour. This is probably the mildest blue cheese we stock.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Cornish Kern is the new cheese from Lynher Dairies, makers of a modern classic in Cornish Yarg.

Kern is longer-matured (16 months), more dense in texture and much more intense than Yarg. Catherine Mead and her team have been working on this for years: starting with the idea of a gouda-type recipe, the cheese evolved, and with the addition of Alpine starter cultures the result has something of the flavour you might associate with Comté or Gruyère. Kern is coated in a black wax-type coating.

Kern, by the way, is Cornish for 'round'.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

Inspired by Ossau-Iraty, from the French Pyrenees, this hard ewe's milk cheese is made by Woodlands Dairy near Blandford in Dorset. The dairy - which is part of the nearby Orchid Meadow Farm - has been making organic sheep's milk yogurts for years before adding this eight-month matured hard cheese in 2017. The milk is from their own herd.

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

A blue brie made in Germany: unpasteurised.

Designed to be eaten as a young cheese, Cornish Blue is a very different product from traditional English blue cheeses such as Stilton or Dorset Blue Vinny.

On the soft side of firm, it's also at the milder end of the flavour spectrum. Cornish Blue is made by Philip and Carol Stansfield with milk from their own farm which sits on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

This cheese had a great moment in the spotlight when it was judged Supreme Champion at the 2010 World Cheese Awards - this led to newspaper headlines saying 'Cornish Blue Is The Best Cheese In The World'!

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Note: some cheeses develop a pink-brown appearance when cut. This is just an aspect of this particular cheese and nothing to worry about.

Phil Rainbow at the Somerset Cheese Company has specialised in non-cow's milk cheeses since the company was founded in 2005. Cheeses such as Fosse Way Fleece (ewe) and Pennard Vale (goat) were very much in the cheddar style, and originally Six Spires was too, but sometime around 2022 the recipe was changed to something more in the Swiss Appenzeller style.

Six Spires is a beautifully full-flavoured cheese named after the six churches visible from the dairy, which sits high up on the Pennard Ridge south of Shepton Mallet.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian

A moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles. A great-looking, great-tasting and unique cheese. Full wheels of Yarg weigh in at 3kg, but the Baby Yarg is also available - a small truckle of around 900g. Complete wheels of Yarg look fantastic - we often seem to use them for our cheese wedding cakes to great effect, as one of the lower layers.

If you know Yarg in this version - the most common - why not have a look at Wild Garlic Yarg, where the nettles are replaced by wild garlic leaves?  

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

The Quicke family from Devon has been making cheese on the same farm just north of Exeter for over 450 years! All their cheddar is matured slowly, wrapped in muslin cloth, to develop a real depth and complexity of flavour. For the smoked cheddar they start with a well-flavoured cheddar matured for 12-15 months. The truckles are cut into 1.5kg pieces - to ensure that the flavour infuses right through the cheese - and then smoked over oak shavings for 3-4 hours.

Pasteurised. Uses vegetarian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

A cheddar-style hard goat's cheese, Pennard Vale is made by Philip Rainbow at Somerset Cheese Company. Philip specialises in all the 'other' milks (i.e. not cow). Pennard Vale has a close, smooth, creamy texture with a nutty taste.  

You might also like to take a look at another lovely cheese made by Philip: Fosse Way Fleece, a real favourite of ours.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

This version of this famous cheddar is matured for 12 months. It's made by Mary Quicke and her team at Newton St Cyres, north of Exeter.

Pasteurised, uses vegetarian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

This is wheel is all Quicke's Cheddar, but made up of two separate half-moon pieces. Half is their mature cheddar (12 months matured), half is smoked. You simply push the two pieces together to make a complete wheel. There are two sizes: large (about 4kg) and small (about 1.8kg)

Large: diameter 25cm, height 7cm (approximate).

Small: diameter 17cm, height 6cm (approximate).

Pasteurised, uses vegeterian alternative to rennet, but maturing cheeses are wrapped in muslin coated with lard.

Made by Somerset Cheese Company, based near Ditcheat, this is based around cheddar but adds Somerset-grown chillies and cracked black pepper. The added flavouring strikes a nice balance - adding a little extra kick whilst allowing the flavour of the cheese to come through.

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

Based around cheddar, this cheese from the Ditcheat-based Somerset Cheese Company adds herbs, garlic and locally made cider.

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

This '50/50' wheel is based on two flavoured cheddars from the Somerset Cheese Company - one with chillies and black pepper, one with herbs, cider & garlic. Consisting of two half-moon shaped pieces, these are simply pushed together to make a complete wheel of about 3.6kg.

Diameter 25cm, height 7cm (approximate).

Vegetarian, pasteurised.

Contains a quarter each of Quicke's Mature Cheddar and their oak-smoked cheddar together with Smarts Double Gloucester and Cornish Yarg. Pushed together you should have a wheel of about 3.7kg in total.

Diameter 25cm, height 7cm (approximate)

Note that as with all our 50/50 and 'four quarter' offerings, we can't guarantee an excat fit! In particular some packing maybe required if there are height differences.

The latest cheese from Graham Padfield of Park Farm, near Bath is this washed rind cheese based on Wyfe Of Bath. Unlike that cheese, however, this one is pressed after making to remove moisture and create a more dense texture. The maturing cheese is then repeatedly washed in cider made on the farm. The result is a very pungent, sticky-rinded and very colourful cheese which is a great addition to our range!

Organic, pasteurised, vegetarian.

Two half-moon shaped cheeses form Somerset Cheese Company. Six Spires is mellow and swiss-style, Somerset Chilli is a feisty cheddar with chillis and peppers!

'Rich', 'mellow', 'powerful', 'earthy, almost smoky' are all terms that have been used to describe this cheese and you won't find anyone here to disagree. Cheese fact: the orangey colour of Double Gloucester is produced by the vegetable dye annatto. Cheeses like Westcombe Red and Shropshire Blue get their colour the same way.

In November 2007 Diana was shortlisted (one of four) for the Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards - the 'Best Producer' Award. A great accolade! And she also makes the less common Single Gloucester - we sell that too, of course.

Unpasteurised, vegetarian

Diana is the Queen of Double Gloucester, but also has another cheese up her sleeve (so to speak). Single Goucester is another hard cow's cheese but without the red annato colouring used in the Double.  It also matures more quickly, but its real distinguishing feature is the use of skimmed milk. Evening milk is left overnight and then skimmed. This is then mixed with the next morning's whole milk, and the result is lighter - both in texture and taste - than its more-well known sibling. A cheese that's a little off the beaten track, and well worth trying!

Unpasteurised, vegetarian

Todd and Maugan Trethowan learned how to make this cheese from Chris Duckett, last of the line of the Duckett family who'd made the cheese over the Bristol Channel in Somerset for generations. 

Gorwydd (pronounced gor-with) Caerphilly offers multiple flavours within one cheese: the centre is sharper, rich and fresh whilst the rind presents a contrasting earthy, natural flavour - mild and lactic in nature, mushroomy with a velvety texture. It takes its name from the village in South Wales where the brothers started, before moving to their current home in north Somerset.

Organic, unpasteurised, not vegetarian.

As the name suggests, this was originally a Welsh cheese, but there's quite a history of Caerphilly making on the south side of the Bristol Channel. Favoured by miners in days gone by, it can also be enjoyed above ground! A young cheese (it could have left the dairy at only four days old), it has a lemony flavour and yielding texture. Caerphilly melts beautifully: ideal for your Welsh Rarebit.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

As the name suggests, this was originally a Welsh cheese, but there's quite a history of Caerphilly making on the south side of the Bristol Channel. Favoured by miners in days gone by, it can also be enjoyed above ground! A young cheese (it could have left the dairy at only four days old), it has a lemony flavour and yielding texture. Caerphilly melts beautifully: ideal for your Welsh Rarebit.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Not quite the only unpasteurised Red Leicester - there is now one called Sparkenhoe being made in Leicestershire itself. But Westcombe Red was the one that brought real farmhouse Red Leicester back from extinction, and utterly wonderful stuff it is too. If you only know this cheese from a factory produced version, try this one.

Made at Westcombe Dairy, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, home also to a fabulous and really powerful cheddar.

Unpasteurised, not vegeterian

Not quite the only unpasteurised Red Leicester - there is now one called Sparkenhoe being made in Leicestershire itself. But Westcombe Red was the one that brought real farmhouse Red Leicester back from extinction, and utterly wonderful stuff it is too. If you only know this cheese from a factory produced version, try this one.

Made at Westcombe Dairy, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, home also to a fabulous and really powerful cheddar.

Unpasteurised, not vegeterian

Sometimes one cheese leads to another. Here's the story:

Once Upon a Time Jamie Montgomery - maker of the famous cheddar - played host to two young Americans keen to learn about cheesemaking. They experimented with some of his Jersey milk - not generally used for cheddar - using various techniques, and the result of one of their more successful ideas led to Jersey Shield.

Up at Neal's Yard Dairy, the storeman Bill Oglethorpe began to experiment with the cheese, using the washed rind technique which affects texture, taste, smell (more!), and the quality of the rind (softer, stickier). You can guess the next bit: Oglethorpe's modified Jersey Shield became 'Ogleshield'.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian.

Ma Crémière Brie has a smooth texture, warm, nutty and floral notes in aroma and taste. A classic mild and buttery French branded full fat brie. The flavour is mild - medium with a slight flavour of hazelnut which comes from the mould coat.

NOTE: Unusually, we're adding a couple of French bries to our list. This is because of problems getting a large Westcountry brie suitable for use in cheese wedding cakes.

Pasteurised, vegetarian.

Brie de Meaux is the classic and most highly thought-of French brie. It is 'AOC' (appellation d'origine contrôlée) meaning it has to conform to strict standards and can only be made in a restricted area. It comes in a wooden box.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian.

NOTE: Unusually, we are adding a couple of French cheeses to our list. This is due to difficulties finding Westcountry bries of this size that are suitable to use in cheese wedding cakes.

Matured in cloth for over 12 months, Keen's use only milk from their own dairy herd, with the untreated milk being used within a day of milking. Only about 130 cheeses are made per week.

Keen's, Montgomery's and Westcombe created one of the first UK Slow Food Presidia - for 'Artisan Somerset Cheddar'. Part of the Slow Food movement, its aim is to raise awareness of the special quality of traditional cheddar made using local raw milk and crafted by hand.

Cheddar from any of these makers represents the cheese at its most traditional, and at its best.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian.

Westcombe Dairy produces one of the 'big three' Somerset cheddars, the others being Keen's and Montgomery's. Although cheese had been made at Westcombe Farm, near Shepton Mallett, since the 1890s, there had been a gap when cheesemaking re-started in the early 1990s.

Sarah Freeman says in The Real Cheese Companion that it "falls neatly between the softer, more flowery tones of Montgomery's and the altogether more robust character of Keen's." Westcombe also make the marvellous Westcombe Red, the cheese which single-handedly resurrected the idea of unpasteurised Red Leicester.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian

Westcombe Dairy produces one of the 'big three' Somerset cheddars, the others being Keen's and Montgomery's. Although cheese had been made at Westcombe Farm, near Shepton Mallett, since the 1890s, there had been a gap when cheesemaking re-started in the early 1990s.

Sarah Freeman says in The Real Cheese Companion that it "falls neatly between the softer, more flowery tones of Montgomery's and the altogether more robust character of Keen's." Westcombe also make the marvellous Westcombe Red, the cheese which single-handedly resurrected the idea of unpasteurised Red Leicester.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian

Westcombe Dairy produces one of the 'big three' Somerset cheddars, the others being Keen's and Montgomery's. Although cheese had been made at Westcombe Farm, near Shepton Mallett, since the 1890s, there had been a gap when cheesemaking re-started in the early 1990s.

Sarah Freeman says in The Real Cheese Companion that it "falls neatly between the softer, more flowery tones of Montgomery's and the altogether more robust character of Keen's." Westcombe also make the marvellous Westcombe Red, the cheese which single-handedly resurrected the idea of unpasteurised Red Leicester.

Unpasteurised, not vegetarian

A wheel made up of four quarters of Quicke's cheese. The four quarters are Quicke's Cheddar, Oak-Smoked Cheddar, Double Devonshire (a 'double Gloucester') and Devonshire Red (a 'red leicester'). Total weight should be around 6kg. Note that there may be some small height differences between the pieces.

Diameter 34cm, height 6cm (approximate)

Quicke's, based at Newton St Cyres, just north of Exeter, are world famous for their wonderful cheddar, and at 24 months the Vintage is their longest-matured version. From the 18-month aged 'extra mature' cheese, Mary Quicke samples and chooses just a few truckles to remain in the maturing room for a further six months. This is done on the basis that their particular flavour is most likely to produce the result she's looking for.

Note that for use as a wedding cake base, we supply this as four quarter-shaped pieces to be pushed together to make a whole wheel of about 6kg

Ford Farm's Cave Aged Cheddar is made in their dairy in Dorset, but matured in the unique environment of Somerset's Wookey Hole cave. Maturing cheese in caves is nothing new in France - Roquefort has been matured in the caves of Combalou mountain for centuries - but Ford Farm's Mike Pullin was the first to do it here.

Mike is convinced that the cave environment has given his cheese a different dimension. The natural moulds grow faster in the high humidity and this has a mellowing effect. The precise contribution of Wookey Hole may be hard to pin down, but this is certainly a welcome addition to the Westcountry cheddar scene.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian

Ford Farm's Cave Aged Cheddar is made in their dairy in Dorset, but matured in the unique environment of Somerset's Wookey Hole cave. Maturing cheese in caves is nothing new in France - Roquefort has been matured in the caves of Combalou mountain for centuries - but Ford Farm's Mike Pullin was the first to do it here.

Mike is convinced that the cave environment has given his cheese a different dimension. The natural moulds grow faster in the high humidity and this has a mellowing effect. The precise contribution of Wookey Hole may be hard to pin down, but this is certainly a welcome addition to the Westcountry cheddar scene.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian

Gouda is the Netherlands' great contribution to European cheese, and this sweet, mellow cheese has been famous since the 12th century. Now a Dutch family has begun making it near Polruan in south east Cornwall.

At six months old, this version is classed as 'semi-mature' - it has a little bit of a kick, but remains creamy. Generally this is supplied as wedges cut from very large cheeses; the exception is a 'mini' 1kg version, which is a whole cheese.

Pasteurised, not vegetarian.

**Please note! If you want the 'small whole truckle (around 1kg)' we might need a bit of notice: try to allow us two weeks if you want one of these.**