[New post] Food Scene Column: Steve cuts to the cheese
celebratemk posted: " Hazel Roberts caught up with Northamptonshire Cheese Company owner Steve Reid to find out about his award-winning cheese recipe… Local cheese is a rare thing around these parts, so it was interesting to find one entered into the Milton Keynes Food" Celebrate:MK lifestyle magazine
Hazel Roberts caught up with Northamptonshire Cheese Company owner Steve Reid to find out about his award-winning cheese recipe…
Local cheese is a rare thing around these parts, so it was interesting to find one entered into the Milton Keynes Food & Leisure Awards last November and a delight to see that it not only won the Best From the Farm category, but the overall Best Food Product award.
The cheese was an unusual 'red' blue cheese called Hobnail Blue, entered by the Northamptonshire Cheese Company.
I caught up with business owner, Steve Reid, to find out more about his award-winning cheese.
Steve is a man with his finger in several pies so, if you enjoy shopping for local artisan food, you may have already come across chutneys from his Friar's Farm range.
He also runs the Northamptonshire Charcuterie Company, offering a decent range of locally made cured meats.
The Northamptonshire Cheese Company came about a few years ago when Steve was able to combine his desire to make cheese in small batches with the cheese-making expertise of Christine Twell.
She had been running Nene View Dairy for years, selling goats milk and goats milk cheese in Stanwick.
When she decided to retire, Steve bought her old equipment and added it to his established food-producing unit at Phipps Brewery, in the centre of Northampton.
Having tasted the Hobnail Blue cheese, I can vouch for its addictive tang and creamy texture so I asked Steve what had led to its creation.
"We wanted to make a blue cheese with a difference," he explained. "There aren't many 'red' blue cheeses."
The Hobnail Blue has the blue veining you would expect from a classic blue cheese but has the colour similar to Red Leicester.
Steve describes it as being smooth with a tang comparable to a decent Roquefort. It took six months of development to perfect, but he has created a worthy winner.
Right now, Steve is excited about the new brie-style cheese he is just about to launch. "It's amazing!" he said.
If you fancy trying some tasty, locally made cheeses, you can find them at many food fairs locally or you can buy online at northamptoncheese.com
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