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.

Cheesemakers - Ben & Sam Spence

THE STORY

There’s a quiet sense of purpose that runs through the Yorkshire Dales, a landscape shaped as much by people as by pasture. It’s here that Ben and Sam Spence have built Curlew Dairy, an independent cheesemaking business devoted to bringing Wensleydale back to its farmhouse origins. Their cheese, Yoredale, is made from raw milk and crafted with care, patience and precision.

Before cheesemaking, Ben’s life was spent in the fast lane of Manchester finance long hours, endless targets, little time to breathe. The change came from a desire to do something meaningful, something rooted in real work and real reward. “I wanted to make something that meant something,” he told me. “Something tangible.”

That simple idea, to make something of value, led him north to the Dales. With Sam, he began experimenting on a small scale, refining recipes, testing curd structure and working out what kind of cheese they wanted to make. From those early beginnings, Curlew Dairy has grown steadily into a full-time operation producing six makes of Yoredale each week, around 2,500 litres of milk per batch, all made entirely by hand.

A wedge of Yoredale

THE METHOD

Curlew Dairy’s make is intentionally unhurried. Over the years, Ben has refined the process to allow the curd to form more gradually, extending the cheesemaking day from roughly two and a half hours to well over four. This slower approach gives the curd strength and texture, helping it hold moisture and develop a creamier consistency.

Everything about the process is tactile and manual, from cutting and stirring the curd to pressing and turning the young cheeses. There’s no mechanisation, no chasing efficiency for its own sake. “The slower we go, the better the result,” Ben explained. “The milk tells you what it needs through how it behaves, temperature, acidity, texture, it’s all there if you pay attention.”

The milk itself comes from Montbéliarde cows, whose rich, full-bodied milk has a higher protein and butterfat content than Holsteins. That quality is the foundation for Yoredale’s distinct character, smooth, creamy, balanced and full of flavour.

The old make room (a converted garage) - Corner House, Wensleydale, Yorkshire

THE CHEESE

Yoredale is Ben and Sam’s interpretation of what Wensleydale once was, a softer, moister, more delicate cheese than the crumbly versions that dominate today’s market. The earliest Wensleydales were made from sheep’s milk and were almost spreadable. Yoredale reimagines that style using cow’s milk, maintaining the freshness and tenderness that defined the original.

The result is a cheese that feels alive. The texture is moist and supple, with a natural creaminess that coats the palate. The flavour begins with sweet butter and fresh cream, develops into a bright, lactic tang, and finishes with a gentle citrus lift. It’s beautifully balanced, clean, light, and deeply expressive of the Dales.

Most of all, it’s a cheese with a clear sense of place: made from rich milk, handled with care, and allowed to show exactly where it comes from.

Yoredale Wensleydale

SUSTAINABILITY

For Ben and Sam, sustainability is about more than farming methods, it’s a way of structuring their entire business and life. Cheesemaking starts early in the morning and finishes early enough for family time. The rhythm of their work fits the rhythm of their home, proving that small-scale production can support a meaningful, balanced life.

Their milk is sourced locally from farmers who share their values, and most of their cheese is sold within the region, through independent retailers, markets and cheesemongers who understand the importance of origin and freshness. It’s a model that strengthens the local economy rather than stretching supply chains thin.

As they prepare to move to their own farm, sustainability will take on new depth. With 300 acres of Dales pasture to manage, Ben plans to bring milk and cheesemaking together in one place. That move will close the loop, cows grazing diverse pastures, milk going straight into the vat, whey returning to the land, creating a small, self-sufficient system rooted in respect for the soil and the people who work it.

THE FUTURE

When I asked Ben about the future, he didn’t talk about growth targets or expansion. He spoke about the move to Carperby, about soil health, herd management, and consistency. “We’re already at the scale we want,” he said. “The move isn’t about getting bigger, it’s about doing what we do now, just better and closer to home.”

The new site will allow them to manage their own herd and environment, giving total control over milk quality and farming practices. It’s a natural next step, one that will bring their cheesemaking, farming and family life into complete alignment.

Curlew Dairy reflects a broader shift happening across British farmhouse cheesemaking: a return to integrity, purpose and connection to land. It’s about quality over quantity, and about knowing that great cheese can only come from people who understand their milk and their environment.

In Yoredale, you taste that commitment. You taste a landscape, a philosophy and a family’s decision to live differently. It’s a reminder that the best things don’t come from scaling up, they come from slowing down, paying attention, and making something real.