Is there anything tastier than cheese? For such a simple, natural thing it continues to make a lot of noise in the modern world, and I’ve always been obsessed by it. I was known to love cheese so much that Blur fans in Japan threw it at me when we played there, and when the band split I bought a farm and started to make it myself.
You can buy a decent chunk of Jamie Montgomery’s Cheddar for £5. You will then be holding something that is the very best of its kind. For those of us who love cheese, that’s fortunate. It could easily be otherwise. The best wines, for example, are way beyond most people’s reach. If only the very best version of everything was just a few pounds more expensive than the worst.
People who love cheese tend to be passionate about it. It speaks to some of us like music or football speaks to others, viscerally. The endless variety fascinates me. The more time I spend thinking about cheese, the more interesting it gets.
Britain has pulled itself up by the bootstraps from the culinary laughing stock of Europe to the most exciting place in the world for food, but we’ve come such a long way in such a short time and our cheesemakers have been at the vanguard of the British food revolution. There were 906 entries in the British Cheese Awards last year — 906 commercially available cheeses on one small island and the best are the best in the world. No kidding. A British cheese won supreme champion at the World Cheese Awards this year.
Alex James is a food writer for The Sun
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Alex James’s favourite cheeses
Adlestrop
Melt it by the fire. Let it ooze over spuds. More addictive for parents than Nintendo DS is for children. Great with lager.
From Daylesford Organic
Appleby’s Cheshire
This is moist and crumbly with an almost citrus taste. Goes well with a digestive biscuit and a glass of beer.
From Neal’s Yard Dairy, SE1
Athenaeum Special
I invented this cheese by accident in a Mayfair bar, famous for its whisky. Simply stir a splash of whisky into a good-quality cream cheese, such as Philadelphia, and you’ve got something with which you could happily entertain a pope or a king if they were to drop by at short notice.
Cream cheese, lowest prices at Asda
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Berkswell
A hard, full-fat, sheep’s-milk cheese from the Midlands. It has a delicious depth of flavour, rich and nutty. It has a reputation for being good to cook with.
From Neal’s Yard Dairy
Blue Monday
You always see the best in your own children and it’s the same with cheese. I am proud of this cheese, which manages to be creamy and well-blued, with a spicy aftertaste and long finish. I like it on a cracker with honey and walnuts.
From Hix, Brewer Street, London W1
Colston Bassett Stilton
There are but a handful of Stilton makers and it seems invidious to select only one. Colston Bassett started as a dairy co-operative in 1913 and still turns out amazing cheese. Try it with stout.
From Neal’s Yard Dairy
Cornish Blue
I was fortunate to be one of the English representatives on the Supreme Champion judging committee at the 2010 World Cheese Awards and saw Philip Stansfield’s creamy and delicious Cornish Blue win the title of World Champion cheese, beating 2,600 contenders. It’s very good indeed. Piquant. Eat it with apples and pears.
From The Albemarle, Brown’s Hotel, Albemarle Street, London W1
Cornish yarg
A distinctive semi-hard cheese made from pasteurised milk. Yarg is wrapped in nettle leaves before maturation. The burnished green of the leaves looks good on a cheeseboard.
From good local delicatessens
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Gorwydd Caerphilly
A great classic cheese. Made with raw milk, it develops a fresh, crisp taste that is the perfect foil for the smooth crumbliness. It has won many prizes. For a classic sandwich, team it with granary bread.
From cheese shops or delicatessens
Montgomery Cheddar
Handmade from unpasteurised milk, James Montgomery’s Cheddar has won a stream of awards. Rich, fruity, delicious and with that much sought-after long finish. Monty’s with a glass of cider makes the most sophisticated ploughman’s in the world.
From Neal’s Yard Dairy
Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire
One of two cheeses that Claire and I served at our wedding (Colston Bassett Stilton was the other). Traditional Lancashire had almost died out until Mrs Kirkham led the renaissance. Takes cheese on toast to another level.
From Harrods and Waitrose
Quicke’s Smoked Cheddar
Mary Quicke’s traditional oak-smoked Cheddar earns its place on the cheeseboard because the smoke adds to the flavours rather than bulldozing them. A good alternative for a smokey cheese sandwich.
From quickes.co.uk and cheese shops
Rachel from Whitelake
Made by my friend Pete Humphries, this is a goat’s-milk cheese that has been washed in brine. This cheese has a great springy texture and tastes fruity — almost nutty. It’s good to see us taking on the French at their own game. Great for nibbling between meals. Quite hard to get, so grab it when you can.
From Stroud farmers’ market, Cornhill Market Place, GL5
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Real Wensleydale
Made in Hawes at the Wensleydale Creamery. This cow’s-milk cheese was brought back from the brink by a management buyout and a lot of hard work. Very elegant. Very milky. Subtly lemony. Perfect for crumbling into a salad.
From all good supermarkets
Stinking Bishop
Made by the inimitable Charles Martell in Gloucestershire, Stinking Bishop is rind-washed and named after a perry pear. The connection being that the cheese is washed in perry while the inside matures into a strongly flavoured, runny, gloopy bliss. Try spreading Stinker along a stick of celery for a crunchy gooey bomb that explodes on the tongue.
From cheese shops and delicatessens
Tunworth
Never let anyone tell you that the British cannot make good white-mould cheeses. Tunworth is made by Hampshire Cheeses and when you cut through the wrinkled skin there is a splendid runny, gooey middle. Fantastic with marmalade on toast.
From Waitrose and cheese shops
18 best cheese shops in Britain
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Cheddar Gorge Cheese
The only cheese made and matured within the parish of Cheddar. As well as its award-winning unpasteurised Cheddar, the company sells regional cheeses such as Cornish Yarg and Long Clawson stilton.
01934 742810; cheddargorgecheeseco.co.uk
Caws Cenarth
Cheese Specialists in Welsh cheeses, including its Golden Cenarth, voted best semi-soft cheese at last year’s British Cheese Awards.
01239 710432; cawscenarth.co.uk
Natoora
Meat, fish and dairy suppliers to many restaurants, and very strong on French and Italian cheese. Parmesan is as good as it gets.
020-7627 1600; natoora.co.uk
Pong
You can get less smelly cheeses from this comprehensive online cheesemonger too, but it’s best known for oozy gems such as Époisses, Munster and Coulommiers Brie.
08447 453065; pongcheese.co.uk
The Cheese Society
You��ll find more than 150 cheeses on offer at this Rick Stein food hero, which is famed for its tiered “cheese cakes”.
01522 511003; thecheesesociety.co.uk
Shops
La Fromagerie
You won’t find a better range of continental cheeses than at Patricia Michelson’s treasure trove of a shop. The café is perfect for sampling them with a glass of wine.
London W1 (and N1) 020-7935 0341; lafromagerie.co.uk
Paxton and Whitfield
The St James’s branch is for many the spiritual home of British cheeses, all of which are kept in impeccable condition. The Colston & Bassett Stilton frequently tops professional taste tests.
London SW1 (and Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon); 020-7930 0259; paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk
Neal’s Yard Dairy
Randolph Hodgson has done more than anyone to champion British and Irish farmhouse cheeses and the huge array here and at his Covent Garden shop is testament to his labours. Well-informed staff are happy to provide tastings.
London SE1 (and WC2); 020-7367 0799; nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Yellow Wedge
Winner of the British Cheese Awards “Best New Cheese Retailer” in 2008, David Harries stocks an enviable collection of artisan cheese, including Lord of the Hundreds, Wyfe of Bath and Dorset Blue Vinny.
Twickenham, Middlesex; 020-8891 2003; yellowwedge.com
John Lewis Foodhall
The cheese room at the Oxford Street store has more than 100 British and continental cheeses and is well worth a browse.London; 020-7629 7711; johnlewis.com
Bath Fine Cheese Company
There’s always something of interest in its monthly cheese selection; in March that means Golden Cross, Appleby’s Cheshire and Cashel Blue.
01225 448748; finecheese.co.uk
Cheese Works
First-rate cheeses, breads, salamis and pickles leap out from the shelves here.
Cheltenham; 01242 255022; www.thecheeseworks.co.uk
Country Cheeses
British cheeses predominantly from within a 100-mile radius.
Tavistock, Devon 01822 615035; countrycheeses.co.uk
Mousetrap Cheese
Shops in Hereford, Leominster and Ludlow showcase, among others, the cheeses made from Mousetrap’s dairy herd in Monkland.
Herefordshire/Shropshire 01568 720307; mousetrapcheese.co.uk
Ludlow Food Centre
Milk from its Friesian-Holstein herd is used to create butter, ice cream and cheese, including Croft Gold, washed in cider brandy. New for 2011: its take on Parmesan.
Shropshire 01584 856000; ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk
Melton Cheeseboard
Specialists in Red Leicester and Stilton, which they source from Long Clawson Dairy, five miles outside Melton Mowbray. Leicestershire 01664 562257; meltoncheeseboard.co.uk
Chester Cheese Shop
The joy of Carole Faulkner’shop is the cellar; here she can bring cheeses to maturity to ensure that they are in peak condition.
Chester; 01244 346240; chestercheeseshop.co.uk
The Cheese Shop
The place to go for Northumberland specialities such as unpasteurised Doddington, and the wonderfully named Cuddy’s Cave. Morpeth,
Northumberland 01670 504434; thecheeseshopmorpeth.co.uk
Tony Turnbull, the Times food and drink editor