Really soft cows' milk cheese is something we've never had too much of at The Cheese Shed: in fact it's been it's been a bit of gap. So I was delighted to be contacted by enthusiastic new cheesemaker Andrew Scott, from Bocaddon farm near Looe in Cornwall. And even more delighted when some cheese arrived to try: I loved it!
Andrew's cheese is made with the farm's own creamy Guernsey milk, and comes in two varieties. Cornish Cracked Pepper Cheese - with black peppercorns - and Cornish Herb and Garlic. They're available as whole wheels of 500g, or half-wheels of 250g.
Vegetarian, pasteurised.
More about Bocaddon Farm
How to find Bocaddon! From Bovey Tracey, head west and off across the Tamar into Cornwall. Admire Brunel's railway bridge as you cross. Whizz past Liskeard then turn left towards Looe. In a few miles the sign for Bocaddon will come into view, and in a small barn you will find the hyper-keen (and 100% French) driving force behind Bocaddon cheese: Valerie Genix.
There's the usual sense of quiet purpose and teamwork and an obvious commitment to the cheese from Valerie and her multi-national team. Originally from the French Alps, she works with American cheesemaker Phil and a real foreigner, Bernice (she's - gulp - from Devon). Valerie was brought in in 2008 with a mission to develop the business and market the cheese. Disullusioned with the music business in Paris, she's hugely energetic and go-ahead, and thinks that British cheesemakers have much to learn from their French counterparts, who band together into regional co-operatives to great advantage.
Bocaddon is a great 'fresh' cheese (i.e it's ready to eat straight away with no maturing) which has been around in its current incarnation for a couple of years. Before that, a similar cheese was made by Lynher Dairy: when they decided to concentrate purely on Yarg, the enterprising people at Bocaddon Farm bought the equipment. But Valerie's quick to tell me that the cheese has 'moved on' - they've worked on the recipe, and - crucially - it uses the rather special milk from the farm's own herd of Guernsey cows.
