Cheshire Cheese Company celebrated a four-midable win at the prestigious International Cheese Awards at Nantwich this year, with four medals including a Gold, Silver, Bronze and a Highly Commended. Co-founding director Simon Spurrell said ‘This adds yet another highlight to our ten years of consistent growth for Cheshire Cheese Company. As a group of companies with an expected turnover in excess of £2.5 million, we have enjoyed a near consistent 100% growth for the last 3 years’. This year’s International Cheese Awards featured over 5000 entrants from twenty six countries and the show founded 122 years ago, remains the biggest annual cheese show in the world.
Cheshire Cheese Company operate from Macclesfield in Cheshire, founded by its life-long residents, Simon Spurrell and Richard Buxton both age 52. They were joined four years ago by Laurence Bass age 55, who has headed up and significantly expanded their wholesale and export business. Simon Spurrell explains ‘The idea for the business was born from the diminishing demand for Cheshire Cheese. For several hundred years Cheshire was Britain’s most popular and oldest named regional cheese, tracing its origins back to Roman times. Since the second world war there has been a steady decline in demand due to factors including, supermarkets, mass production which concentrated on volume not quality and the influx of foreign imports. The four remaining producers of Cheshire Cheese still face an uncertain future, it is similar to the one our cheese cousin Wensleydale survived ten years ago with the help of Wallace and Gromit’.
Not wanting to see their local regional cheese disappear, Spurrell and Buxton created a cheeky new brand that took traditional cheese, blended with new and exciting flavour combinations. Their range of fourteen waxed truckles of cheese include something for every taste; traditional Creamy Cheshire; Black Bob Extra Mature Cheddar and for the gourmet; Caramelised Onion and Rioja or Cracked Black Pepper and Garlic Cheshire. Spicy ‘El Gringo’ Chilli, Lime and Tequila warms the taste buds and for dessert how about a Gin and Lemon Cheshire or even Sticky Toffee Heaven Cheese. Their cheese alchemy has seen their popularity and demand grow with over 1.5 million cheese truckles produced last year.
You can find their award winning cheese in their six north west England, Cheese & Wine Emporiums, along with over 500+ nationwide independent Delis, Farm Shops, Garden Centres, Booths supermarkets, Selfridges, Ocado and Costco. Their online website business has over 60,000 Cheshire Cheese Club Members and a Social Media following of 50,000 and is shipping to twenty countries next day including the USA. Their wholesale division lead by Bass has secured export deals that has made them active in 10 countries and counting. Spurrell adds ‘We are fully committed to our continued growth in our domestic market, within the EU and throughout the rest of the world. The Cheese That Makes You Grin, The Mad Hatter and The Cheshire Cat are all continuing to help us make our brand global’
The Awards Winning Cheese
Gold – Smokey Redwood Cheddar, a sixth Gold award for this king of the smoked flavoured cheeses.
Silver – Gin and Lemon Cheshire, and incredible on trend flavour combination that is just as popular as the drink.
Bronze – Royal Blue Cheshire, a brand new and artisan hand made soft blue cheese foil wrapped and then waxed.
Highly Commended – Charcoal Cheese, creamy black cheese, blended with activated charcoal is a new addition to the range.