Moorland Tomme

Alastair only makes a small amount of this Tomme: full-flavoured, quality milk is collected from the community’s 46 Dairy Shorthorn cows (a traditional Craven breed known for the superb quality of their milk).

Alastair, a local lad who worked at Botton, travelled to Germany to learn his cheese-making trade.  Andy Swinscoe met Alastair by chance on a cheese-making course several years ago, when Alastair was trying to perfect Dale End Cheddar.

When The Courtyard Dairy set up in North Yorkshire, Andy visited Alastair and discovered that his cheese was relatively unknown and only sold locally.  The Courtyard Dairy decided to stock the Dale End Cheddar and age it to 18-months old, by which time it is rich, with a sharp Cheddar bite.  Since then the additional cheeses made here: his Gouda and the Moorland Tomme, have been added into the fold.

Moorland Tomme is made to a French ‘tomme’ recipe, that Alastair learnt whilst working in Germany – there are many variants of tomme cheese (which means round in French), Tomme de Savoie (round from Savoie) being the most famous – they are used to name cheeses throughout France, each cheese taking it’s own characteristics; this Tomme recipe is slightly firmer than most but exhibits that nutty, slightly sweet flavour.

This Moorland Tomme is made by a Camphill Village Trust in Botton Village Community.  Camphill Communities are a social enterprise for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other special needs.  The community has over 130 residents, is set in the wild and beautiful North Yorkshire Moors and is fully self-sustainable and biodynamic.  Each of the residents has a role: working on the farms, helping Alastair to make and age his cheese, or in other roles (the local store, wood workshops, making preserves and baking bread).

Read about The Courtyard Dairy’s visit to Botton Creamery to see how the cheese is made and tell this amazing story by clicking here.

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.