BCW35 – APRIL 2018 – LOCAL HEROS
COURSES
- Baton / Dorstone Goats / Grapes and Onion Crumb / Locksley Gin and Pink Grapefruit Tonic
- Linseed Sourdough / Stanage Curd / Sheffield Honey / The Den Chenin Blanc, SA
- Yorkshire Square / Little Mester / Walfdorf Salad / Renishaw Hall Sparkling Wine
- Malted Cob / Linconshire Poacher / Carrot and Coriander Chutney / Gayda En Passant
- Sour Cherry Biscuit / Cotehill Blue / Brew Foundation Janet’s Treat Porter / Cherry Brandy
CHEESE
Dorstone
Dorstone is made by Charlie Westhead and his team at Neal’s Yard Creamery in Dorstone, Herefordshire, from the milk of a mixed herd of British Alpine and Toggenburg goats. The cheese’s distinctive fluffy texture is a result of the curds being “pre-drained,” a technique in which the yoghurt-like curds are ladled onto mats to drain before being mixed with salt and patted into moulds. As a result, the curds are less dense and open-textured. Dorstone can be eaten within a week or so of production, or aged for a month or more.
Little Mester
Little Mester is a small, surface-ripened soft cheese, made with milk from the Our Cow Molly herd, which grazes just a few miles from Kelham Island at Dungworth. It is made by Sophie Williamson under the name of Sheffield Cheesemasters,
Stanage Millstone Curd
Stanage Millstone is a creamy, bloomy rind cheese made by hand in small batches at Cow Close Farm, using milk from a neighbouring herd of Hathersage cows. The curd used this evening is made at the start of the process when the curds are separated from the whey.
The trick is using fantastic quality milk sourced from a single herd of robotically milked cows on a neighbouring farm. The robotic milking means that the cows are happier as they can pick and choose when they are milked. The curd is made from whole pasteurised cow’s milk, vegetarian rennet and salt.
Lincolnshire Poacher
Brothers Simon and Tim Jones oversee the production of Lincolnshire Poacher on their family farm, Ulceby Grange in Lincolnshire. The farm has been in the family since 1917. The first batch of cheese was made there in 1992. Lincolnshire Poacher is often described as a cross between Cheddar and mountain cheese. The brothers are passionate about land stewardship. They farm sustainably to get the best milk from their closed herd. They create their own energy from wind, sun, heat exchange, and a straw pellet boiler. Cheesemaker Richard Tagg will turn about 6000 litres of milk into roughly 28 to 30 wheels of cheese, which are matured by an experienced and dedicated team in the farm’s immaculate storerooms. Neal’s Yard typically select cheeses when they are between 12 and 18 months old, and sell them between 18 and 24 months old.
Cote Hill Blue
Mary and Michael Davenport are small tenancy farmers of Cote Hill Farm in Lincolnshire, with only 63 cows’ (including some of the unusual Red Poll breed which has a rich milk). With the price of wholesale milk falling, the Davenports knew they would have to add value to their milk or give up dairy farming. So in 2005 they went on a short cheese-making course and decided to have a go at it. They noticed there was a gap in the market for a soft unpasteurised blue cheese, so they went to great lengths to develop what is recognised as a notoriously hard cheese to make (there was a reason for the gap in the market!). Cote Hill Blue was the outcome – a soft, rich blue given a distinctive and unusual taste by the quality of their unpasteurised milk.
