Little Goat Heart

Haydn Roberts is one of Britain’s most promising cheese makers.  Stating out young in Neal’s Yard Creamery, an off-spin of Neal’s Yard Dairy, he worked his way up to become head cheese-maker, helping to create and make some of their outstanding cheeses, including Ragstone, Hay on Wye, Finn and Dorstone.

In 2013 Haydn left Neal’s Yard Creamery in order to venture out on his own.  Borrowing equipment, and renting a nearby dairy in Worcester, he started to tinker.  He contacted Andy Swinscoe (owner of The Courtyard Dairy) and together they began to develop a goats’ cheese that they hoped would rival the best of those being made in the UK.  Using unpasteurised goats milk, they experimented – different recipes, bacteria, size and maturation (you’ll find lots of pictures of mistakes and various experiments on Twitter).  Even with their useful experience, however, it was six months before the cheese was good enough to sit on Andy’s counter at The Courtyard Dairy.  It was a French lactic-style (slowly set over 24 hours or more), with a thin undulating rind (a natural yeast rind) that gives it richness and creaminess.  Haydn ships this cheese after about a week, when it is stable, then it is ‘hastened’ and dried slightly by Andy before being matured for three to four weeks until it ‘breaks down’, allowing the rich flavours to show and the luscious texture to develop without being too overpoweringly ‘goaty’.  This cheese is then moulded into a heart shape!

It was originally called the ‘cheese with no name’ (Haydn and Andy couldn’t think of one) – the name was chosen in a competition with the Courtyard Dairy’s mailing list in early 2015.

This product will have two weeks shelf life from the date of delivery.  Conveniently, at checkout you can choose a delivery date even well in the future if you would like your cheese delivering for a specific event.

Weight: 1 x 40g cheese.