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doddington dairy cheese selection

A visit to Doddington Dairy by The Courtyard Dairy Team

A great day out for The Courtyard Dairy team visiting the fabulous makers of Doddington Cheese up in Wooler, Northumberland; here is cheesemonger Gail’s blog: “I came to help out at the farm for a couple of weeks. That was ten years ago” James Maxwell tells us. Back then James decided he liked making cheese a lot more than milking cows – which is great news for us, because he’s really good at it. Reassuringly few things have changed since our last cheesemonger team visit to North Doddington Farm in 2018. Most notably, renowned cheesemaker Margaret Maxwell has handed the reins to her nephew James, after a thorough apprenticeship. James has also taken on a young local cheesemaker to help out, and their range of cheeses has expanded from six to eight. The four of us were here to see Doddington cheese being made. Like many British greats, Doddington came from a mix of influences and evolved into something quite unique; a Red Leicester recipe (without the ‘Red’ colouring), strongly influenced by visits to lots of different cheesemakers in France and the Netherlands. Cheesemaking starts in the morning with the first and freshest 2000 litres of unprocessed milk, brought across…
Yr Afr Cheeses in North Wales

An interview with Brad & Beth Cunningham, makers of Yr Afr Cheese in North Wales

Brad and Beth Cunningham make Yr Afr (which translates as ‘The Goat’ in Welsh) in Bethesda, North Wales. Andy interviewed them to find out what makes these fantastic cheese-makers tick. Give a brief synopsis of your business and career. We originally lived in Rossendale with Brad working as a Mechanical Engineer and Beth training as a solicitor. After some time tinkering in our family kitchen trying to make goats cheese (with varying success), Beth was given a job opportunity in North Wales so we both made the decision to move and get a small herd of 5 goats and rented a small section of a local farm. We then were put in touch with Carrie Rimes of Cosyn Cymru who makes some exceptional sheep’s cheese and from there we were given the option by Carrie to take our love of cheesemaking to the next level and rent a section of her dairy to follow our passion. And here we are! What made you get into doing what you do? Quite simply our love of cheese! We used to go to our local cheesemongers quite regularly in Manchester and it was just a couple of YouTube video’s later that we started making some…
sparkenhoe blue cheese recipe

Leek and Sparkenhoe Blue pasties – food writer Angus D. Birditt’s recipe

Food writer Angus D. Birditt‘s favourite recipe for cooking cheese is these Leek and Sparkenhoe Blue pasties, taken from his fabulous: ‘A Portrait of British Cheese (Quadrille Publishing)’. “I love to have this recipe for any lunch or dinner, either piping hot at home or served cold on a long walk with a fresh salad.” Ingredients (makes 3 pasties) 15g butter 1 small leek, finely sliced 1 small potato, peeled and finely diced into small cubes 1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry (about 35cm x 23cm) Flour, for dusting 100g Sparkenhoe Blue, cut into 6 slices 1 large egg Sea salt and freshly Ground black pepper Method Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. In a non-stick pan on a medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the leek and potato for about 10 minutes until softened. Add a small pinch of salt and a few turns of black pepper, and set aside to cool. Unroll the puff pastry and cut it in half widthways. Place a small plate (about 15cm in diameter) on the pastry to use as a template, and cut around it. You should have enough room for two circles – one on each…

An interview with renowned food journalist Dan Saladino

Producer and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme for over 15 years, Dan has become a key figure on the British food scene, shining a light on numerous stories, championing food producers and telling food stories which help keep Britain’s food scene vibrant and improving. His award-winning first book Eating to Extinction, The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them highlighted the need to save the world’s precious food diversity. Although on a brief break from The Food Programme in order to research and write his next book, Dan took the time to speak to Andy to talk about his career so far, the food he loves to eat, his thoughts on the future of British food and what to expect from him next. Give a brief synopsis of your business and career. I started work at the BBC back in the mid-90s as a district reporter for local radio. This was followed by a stint in BBC television news, which confirmed what I already knew, that radio was where I wanted to be. After a few years working on Radio 4’s investigative series, Face the Facts, I was offered the chance to join the Food…
portrait of cheese

An interview with Angus D. Birditt: food writer, photographer & researcher

Having written and worked for numerous food and farming organisations (the Sustainable Food Trust, Farms to Feed Us, Pipers Farm, Pasture for Life…) Angus D. Birditt founded the award-winning platform ‘Our Isles’ as a place to enjoy and explore articles, photography and exhibitions on good food, nature-friendly farming, rural heritage and the natural environment.   he want on to write a collection of poetry called Our Isles (Pavilion Books) and  A Portrait of British Cheese (Quadrille Books) What made you get into doing what you do? I have always been passionate about good food and drink, especially regional and seasonal food, knowing the place and people behind it. But I initially started off my career in the food & drink industry as a food producer. It was in my last year at university when I founded the food company, The Bridge Lodge, which sold wild food products. It was a time when the Welsh Government placed ‘food’ on the same funding level as ‘tourism’. This was brilliant, giving us free consultation on building our business and researching our nutritional values, funding opportunities, and perhaps most importantly, gave us access to large food and drink festivals and international trade shows hosted across…