The ‘Queen of Cheddar’ at 70
Amy Brice interviews Mary Quicke MBE of Quicke’s Traditional, as the ‘Queen of Cheddar’ celebrates her 70th birthday,
Jane & Mary Quicke
One of British cheese’s most recognisable faces, Mary Quicke was at the helm of Quicke’s for nearly 40 years before passing the reins to her daughter, Jane in 2024. While Jane becomes the 15th generation of the family to be managing the ancient pastures at Home Farm, Mary is celebrating a big birthday.
Mary’s influence on artisan cheese has been phenomenal, not least through her work in developing the family business - achieving global recognition for Quicke’s clothbound cheeses, while taking great strides to becoming net zero by 2030.
Away from the farm, Mary has co-founded the Academy of Cheese and the Maize Growers Association, been appointed to the board of the FSA (Food Standards Agency) and the AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), judges at cheese competitions across the world, and is a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers… among other interests.
As Mary 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.
YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN SO MANY INTERESTING PROJECTS DURING YOUR CAREER, COULD YOU SHARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AT QUICKE’S
Highlights at Quicke’s include, developing our cheesemaking skills with the help of the wonderful Val Bines and being part of saving the heritage starter cultures (thank you Barbers, for coming to the rescue). In 1996, we sold our high input Holsteins and replaced them with crossbred cows, which can graze almost year-round to produce fab milk for cheese. Another great achievement was developing our mite control machine when we lost the ability to fumigate and I am proud of the on-farm brand that we have created, maybe the first.
AND WHAT ABOUT HIGHLIGHTS AWAY FROM THE FARM?
Other highlights include, co-founding The Maize Growers Association in 1988, when I realised there was no knowledge in the UK about how to feed dairy cows on maize, the foundation of Raw Drinking Milk Producers Association, when I realised what a challenge raw drinking milk was to the Food Standards Agency in 2016, and co-founding the Academy of Cheese. When I saw what a contribution the Certified Cheese Professional exam was to all parts of the cheese industry in the US, I was inspired to bring this concept back to the UK. Gestating, birthing and rearing the Academy of Cheese to where it is now: our first Masters of Cheese imminent, with over 6,000 people across 91 countries studying or having studied with Academy of Cheese. Education and understanding is the way to have the whole chain work better.
HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED IN THE CHEESE WORLD, SINCE YOUR CAREER AT QUICKE'S BEGAN?
When I started, traditional clothbound cheddar was a left behind thing, what people made if they hadn’t kept up with the times. Now, there is a whole network of amazing young people fired up with what’s possible in artisan cheese, what’s possible for climate and biodiversity, with people farming and making cheese that belongs to a place.
WHAT'S YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT IN CHEESE SO FAR?
Going and getting my MBE from the then HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles. The citation was ‘contribution to agriculture’. Prince Charles said, ‘no, this is for contribution to cheese’. Not quite sure to this day what it was for.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW CHEESE PRODUCER STARTING OUT?
It’s hard work, you won’t make as much money as your friend in financial services, and your life will have a lot more cheese in it.
WHAT'S NEXT ON YOUR AGENDA?
Supporting my daughter Jane how she wants me to, to take our business forward. For myself, I’d like to find a way to communicate the importance of an animal step in farming for soil health and connect people with how their food gets produced so they can make good choices. I’m not sure how to do that and hope I can get some ideas from somewhere if I put it out there.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM A LIFE IN CHEESE?
Keep learning and developing, honour and respect other people’s views and ways of doing things. Have fun, this isn’t a dry run.
Find out more at quickes.co.uk.