The bite
Learning through taste, terroir and truth.
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HERO CHEESE: Yoredale
From Finance to Farmhouse: The Curlew Dairy Story. This month we meet Ben Spence of Curlew Dairy, the maker reviving raw-milk Wensleydale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. His cheese, Yoredale, is lactic, buttery and bright, capturing the true flavour of place and the quiet craft of real farmhouse cheesemaking.
HERO CHEESE: Doddington
Few dairies capture the quiet integrity of British farmhouse cheesemaking quite like Doddington Dairy. Set in the rolling pastures of Northumberland, it stands as a model of how tradition and sustainability can coexist, a place where the rhythm of the land still shapes what ends up on the table.
INTERVIEW: Katherine Dart MW
The Bite sits down with Master of Wine Katherine Dart to explore what happens when the right cheese meets the right wine. From Wensleydale to Pinot Grigio to Rosé and Stilton, this is a story of curiosity, craftmanship, and community.
CHEESE CHAT Jake Goldstein
If you’ve ever launched a food business at the “silly” end of the year, you’ll know the mix of adrenaline and mild chaos Jake is living on right now. Primrose Creamery is new, the make room still smells of fresh paint, and the recipes are moving from bench-top trials to proper batches. But inside that newness is an old-school idea: cheeses that change with the milk, with the weather, with the day. As Jake puts it, “a winemaker has a vintage every year; a cheesemaker has a vintage every day.” It’s the north star for Primrose, listen to the milk, make what the milk wants, and let the seasons be visible in the rind.
INTRODUCING: Pencw Cheese - Jemima Blue
Penrhiw Organic Farm sits high above Fishguard, where sea air brushes the hedgerows and herbal leys ripple across soft Welsh hills. Alan and his partner are building a new kind of dairy: small, organic, and guided by low-stress, high-welfare principles. Their herd of Jerseys and Jersey-crosses is milked once a day, soon to be kept with calves at foot, a system designed for happier cows, healthier milk, and exceptional cheese.
THE STORY: New Forest Shortbread
Handmade, buttery, and rooted in the New Forest, this is the story behind the biscuit chosen by The Real Cheese Project for our Cheese Crowd subscribers tasting box.
HERO CHEESE: Young Buck
A new generation of cheesemakers is reshaping Britain and Ireland’s cheese landscape blending heritage with bold innovation. Meet Mike Thomson, the “accidental cheesemaker” behind Young Buck, the raw milk blue that put Northern Ireland back on the cheese map.
HERO CHEESE: Saval
Artisan cheese is living heritage, with traditions and techniques passed down and adapted through generations.
At Glynhynod Farm in West Wales, Robert Savage of Caws Teifi continues that story with Saval, the UK’s first semi-hard washed rind cheese.
A tale of legacy, adaptation and real cheese crafted from the soil up.
The ‘Queen of Cheddar’ at 70
As Mary Quicke MBE has celebrated her 70th birthday recently, we asked her about her significant contribution to cheese, food and farming, and what’s now at the top of her to-do list.
CHEESE TRAVELS: Rolling Cheese, Helsinki
Located along the historic Museokatu in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, Rolling Cheese - founded by Finnish-British couple, Nelli and Peter Steer - stands alone as the only bricks-and-mortar cheese shop in Finland.
SHOP TALK: Jordan Thomson, Love Cheese
We’re in the northeast for our latest Shop Talk, chatting with Jordan Thomson from York-based cheese and wine store, Love Cheese.
Affineur of the Year 2025
Affineur of the Year is set to return on Tuesday 3 June, with the Academy of Cheese once again inviting cheese lovers and cheese pros to come together in a joyous celebration of cheese aging craft. We caught up with Tracey Colley to find out more.
Choosing the slow path
On a patch of earth near the village of Graffham in West Sussex, cheese is being made in harmony with the land, its soil and the animals who graze upon it. Katie Forman and Brett Sacks founded Slow Grown Farm in 2021, and with a clean slate to work with, they’ve designed everything to do better by the environment, better by their animals and better by cheese lovers. We chatted with Brett, to find out more.
SHOP TALK: Carolyn Hopkins, The Truckle Truck
We’re on the road with Carolyn Hopkins, founder of Dorset’s own cheese shop on wheels, The Truckle Truck.
The Draw of Raw
In Northern Ireland, raw milk cheese disappeared altogether. Enter Mike Thompson. 11 years ago, Mike decided to create a new tradition of raw milk cheesemaking in Northern Ireland, and Mike’s Fancy Cheese was born. We caught up with Mike to find out more about his one man raw milk revolution.
MEET: George Bramham, Cheese Cellar Dairy
We caught up with Harvey & Brockless’ head cheesemaker, George Bramham, to find out more about what’s being made at the artisan food producer and distributer’s Cheese Cellar Dairy.
MEET: Torpenhow Farmhouse Dairy
Run by husband and wife team, Mark and Jenny Lee, Torpenhow Farmhouse Dairy is certified organic, and a member of British farmer-owned regenerative dairy co-op, First Milk – all part of the Lee’s commitment to happier herds, healthier soil, increased biodiversity and producing more nutritious dairy. Here, Sam Brice chats to Mark about the farm’s work with Pasture for Life.
A visit to Mrs Temple’s Cheese
Rising business costs, climate change and a passion for wildlife preservation have all been catalysts for husband and wife team, Stephen and Catherine Temple to implement circular economy practices on their farm in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk. Here, Amy Brice interviews cheesemaker, Dr Catherine Temple, to find out how renewable energy has impacted the business, and of course their cheesemaking.
CHALLENGE THE CHEESEMONGER: The Cheese Society
Keith Kendrick taps into cheesemonger wisdom with a special order. This week, it’s Lucie Nock from The Cheese Society, Lincoln.
SHOP TALK: Lily Morris, Morris’ Of Usk
We chat to Lily Morris, head cheesemonger at Morris’ of Usk in Monmouthshire, and winner of Young Cheesemonger of the Year 2023.