region

Dates for the Dairy – Somerset Cheese Festivals

Dates for the Dairy, Event cheese

No cheese this week –  instead, the promise of cheese. The Somerset cheese festival programme is slated (see what I did there?) to begin this Saturday. Grab your chutney, statins, sun hats and cagoules, and get involved.

A5-BETTER-WILD-CHEESE-FLYER-2014-2The Second Westcombe Wild Cheese + Beer Festival

Westcombe Dairy and the Wild Beer Company’s promotional material promises “Beer & Cheese & Food & Other Things”. Other Things translates to coconut shys to support the local cricket team, live music, and cheese and beer pairing/tasting classes. They’re launching two new Wild Beer Co. beers, and the dairy will be putting about its stellar unpasteurised cheddar alongside a couple other of its masterfully crafted artisan cheeses. In the event of a light shower or two, there’s cleverly a marquee.

The 151st Royal Bath & West Show

The UK’s “biggest” cider competition; the country’s “finest” livestock; and the new home of The British “Cheese” Awards. Wham Bam Thank You Farmland.

Somerset Cheese, Cider and Moozic Festival

Promises 25 different local ciders; over 30 Somerset produced cheeses; camping; dogs welcome; cheese & cider games “like no other”. Bands include Joey the Lips; Sound of the Sirens; Wille & The Bandits; and The Mangled Wurzels known for such agriculturally flavoured hits as “I Can Drive a Tractor” (see below).

Any festivals I’ve missed for May/June in Somerset, please let me know in the comments section.

Next week: back to cheese

GB Cheese Regions: Teifi Valley, Wales

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“The British Isles are a dairy wonderland of common climate, temperature, elevation and pasture” – Steve Jenkins, cheesemonger

Teifi Valley map As a cheese region, the Teifi Valley is both new and old. New in the sense that it’s never really been a bona fide “region” until quite recently, after various local authorities embarked on a marketing push for the area and compiled a brochure knitting together five local cheesemakers – Carmarthenshire Cheese Company; Caws Cenarth; Hafod Welsh Organic Cheddar; Sancler Organic; and Teifi Farmhouse Cheese – into the Teifi Valley Cheese Producers.

The brochure reached for the stars, breathily describing how “with its lush pasture and stunning scenery it is no wonder that the Teifi Valley in the heart of south-west Wales has been likened to the ‘Loire Valley’ of Welsh cheesemaking’.

Highfalutin aspirations aside, the Teifi Valley is lush, green and very pleasant to visit (especially when it’s notTeifi countryside raining, which it does a fair bit – hence the attractive lushery and greenery). Great bit of coast as well, with hidden beaches and tiny fishing villages backing into rugged cliffs. It’s also dairy country, and prior to the marketing push it was and still remains to be home to the majority of artisan cheesemakers in Wales.

The varieties made in this region vary a lot, but as it’s Wales you tend to find Caerphilly well represented. Besides that, you’ll encounter the whole cheesy gamut from fresh to bloomy rind camembert-style to blue. It’s a creative valley; perhaps all the rain forces the cheesemakers to spend extra time indoors tinkering with their cheeses. Whatever the reason, it’s well worth a tasting trip.

As an added plus, Teifi Farmhouse Cheese has also installed its own distillery. Their farmhouse botanical gin is a sweet little number.

Teifi Valley recommendations:

Golden Cenarth – Washed rind, oozy, good for melting in the oven and dipping in with crusty bread (or, whisper it: crispy bacon)

Hafod Cheddar – Organic cheddar made from a century old recipe; the nutty creaminess keeps unfolding in the long finish.

Gorwydd Caerphilly – Exemplary traditional caerphilly, soft and lemony with an earthy rind. (Trethowans Dairy which makes Gorwydd isn’t technically in the Teifi Valley, but it’s just one hill over from Hafod (which is also strictly speaking in the Aeron and not the Teifi Valley), so let’s all just geographically unclench for a minute and focus on the cheese).

Seaweed Teifi – After trying this, Pavarotti apparently shipped a ton (perhaps literally) over to Italy. Haven’t tried it, but did try some Teifi Mature that was, in the effervescent vernacular of the West Country, gert lush.

Build your own taste trail here: http://tastetrailwales.co.uk/en