Our favourite female cheese makers

Women are taking over… well, in the world of cheese at least. Here are five foodie females who have made a thriving business out of their homemade fromages.

Stacey Hedges and Charlotte Spruce, Hampshire Cheeses

Stacey Hedges and Charlotte Spruce’s ‘Tunworth’ cheese is “the best Camembert in the world” according to Raymond Blanc, and is also Nigel Slater’s “favourite melting cheese”. That’s quite something, especially seeing as Stacey only set Hampshire Cheeses up in 2005. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Stacey once worked as a part-time cheesemonger (and loved it), so 20-odd years later decided to set up shop herself in Hampshire, where she now lives.

In May 2006, Hampshire Cheeses moved into its first tiny creamery and in September of the same year, their camembert-like Tunworth cheese (sweet, nutty and creamy, with a thin wrinkled rind) became Britain's Supreme Champion Cheese at the British Cheese Awards, beating more than 800 other cheeses. Charlotte joined the team in 2006 as head cheesemaker, and Tunworth continues to be made by hand in small batches – it is ripened slowly and matured before being sold.  

Where can I find it? Specialist cheese shops and delis across the UK, and various markets

Elizabeth Harris, Childwickbury goats’ cheese

One-woman machine Elizabeth Harris spends six hours a day, five days a week making goats’ cheese from her base in the beautiful Hertfordshire hamlet of Childwickbury. A research scientist by trade, Elizabeth caught the cheese-making bug on a course 25 years ago and now makes around 50 cheeses a day from her small herd. She knows all of the goats by name and does everything herself, including feeding the animals and wrapping up the cheese, ready for sale at nearby St Albans market. Elizabeth says that it is the individuality of each goat that makes her product so special. It’s got the familiar rich, creaminess of a standard goats’ cheese, but is slightly sweeter, delicate, and more floral than most.

Where can I find it? At St Albans weekly market, or online

Sarah Hampton, Brock Hall Farm goats’ cheese

“Our cheeses are the result of our ambition to capture, in their purest form, the qualities of our beloved goats, their milk, and the land and care that sustain them,” says Brock Hall Farm Dairy owner Sarah Hampton (pictured main image, above). She’s been based at Brock Hall, a free-range Shropshire goats’ farm, since 2000, and currently makes four goats’ cheeses there – ‘Dutch Mistress’ (succulent, full-flavoured, and the winner of a bronze medal at the 2012 British Cheese Awards); ‘Fresco Angelico’ (described as ‘the most heavenly goats’ cheese’ – delicate, velvety, and lemony); ‘Pablo Cabrito’ (smooth and citrusy – winner of a silver medal at the 2012 British Cheese Awards); and ‘Capra Nouveau’ (perhaps the best performer, with three gold stars at the 2012 Great Taste Awards – rich and creamy, with a sweet finish).

Like Elizabeth Harris and her Childwickbury cheese, Sarah knows every goat by her bleat and all are named and recognised as individuals. Only pedigree ‘Pure Saanen’ goats are kept at the farm, a species which is known as ‘The Queen of Dairy Goat’s’ because of their gently nature, intelligence and consistently high quality milk. All the cheese in unpasteurised (to retain the natural goodness of the goats’ milk) and Sarah makes all the produce by hand.

Where can I find it? Cheese shops and markets across the UK, mainly in the Midlands

Tricia Bey, Barwheys dairy

Tricia Bey has been at Barwheys in Ayrshire, Scotland since 2005 and Alison Butcher, who joined in 2011, is her right-hand woman. The pair recently won a gold medal at the Royal Highland Show 2013, where they also picked up the Best Speciality Cheese Made in Scotland award for their 12-month-old cloth-bound cheddar truckle.

Tricia’s cheddar is made exclusively from the unpasteurised milk of her own pedigree Ayrshire cows, which graze on pastures that surround the dairy in south Ayrshire. The cheese is made by hand and bandaged in traditional cheesecloth, then carefully aged on wooden shelves for between ten and 24 months. It has a long and complex flavour and is slightly tart at first, before the taste gives way to subtle hints of nuts and caramel. Tricia also occasionally offers a locally smoked version of Barwheys cheddar, and the ‘Barwheys Beastie’, a complex 24-month-matured cheddar which was designed with Burns Night suppers in mind.  

In April of this year, Tricia was the only female cheese maker to present at the International Cheese Festival in Hong Kong, where she flew the flag for Scottish cheese. She was also one of four experts who ran masterclasses for visitors to the festival.  

Where can I find it? Delis and restaurants throughout Scotland, or online

Mary Holbrook, Tymsboro goats’ cheese

Ex-archaeologist Mary Holbrook had been making cheese in Somerset for years before stumbling across the ‘cheesemakers bible’ while at a conference in Tours, France. It was that book which gave her the recipe for ‘Tymsboro’ – a silk-smooth goats’ cheese made in Valencay moulds to look like flat-topped pyramids. The taste is lemony, nutty, and sometimes distinctly goaty.

Making Tymsboro is a complex process – the curd is fragile, and it takes three days from the first making before the cheeses can have a light ash coating sprinkled on the top, which encourages their mould coats to grow slowly. It is at least three weeks before Mary’s cheeses can leave the farm, but in that break she often likes to experiment with new ideas – she recently tried making cheese using French camembert starters, for example, and has also tried using whey from the previous day’s make to start the cheese. 

Where can I find it? Neal's Yard Dairy and online

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