AN ARTISAN cheese maker from Worcestershire has taken over production of three well-known and much loved heritage Welsh cheeses, in a bid to keep the brand and taste alive.
Nick Hodgetts, managing director of Croome Cheese, a family business on the outskirts of Worcester, stepped in earlier this year to rescue delicious ‘Harlech’, ‘Tintern’ and ‘Y-Fenni’, after The Abervagenny Fine Food Co stopped production of these classics.
Now, the tasty trio of creamy, flavoursome cheddars, originally created in the beautiful South Wales valleys by the Craske family, features as part of Croome’s award-winning range of cheeses, and its customers and stockists are waxing lyrical over the move.
Nick, who has been making cheese for more than 30 years, said: “We’ve enjoyed these wonderful cheeses for a long time now, and they are favourites on the country shows circuit. The thought of them being taken out of circulation was unthinkable, so we decided to buy the brand and bring them into the Croome fold, wasting no time in getting production up and running straight away.
The cheeses were always very popular with The Abervagenny Fine Food Co customers, so we didn’t even contemplate changing the way they were made.
They are all made with genuine Welsh cheddar, and we use the exact same recipe, the exact same name, and the exact same labelling. In fact, the only difference is that they are now available in 150g waxed truckles as well as 1.5kg rounds.
Response to Harlech, Tintern and Y-Fenni has been phenomenal in just a short space of time, and I am not surprised. It’s all about brand loyalty and real taste and we consider them to be an asset to our already popular cheese collection. It is encouraging to see that our customers and stockists have very quickly given the newcomers a firm thumbs up too!”
Signature Y-Fenni consists of cheddar cheese blended with wholegrain mustard and ale, and takes its name from the Welsh for Abervagenny in Monmouthshire, East Wales. It is great as part of a Ploughman’s Lunch and is delicious melted on toast. Tintern takes its name from the village on the River Wye in Monmouthshire and is a mature, creamy cheddar flavoured with fresh chives and shallots for a distinctive tang. Harlech is apparently named after the military march ‘Men of Harlech’ and is a strong cheddar laced with horseradish and parsley. It is said to be delicious over a leek gratin.
Croome Cheese has been working with Rowcliffe, Britain’s leading importer and distributor of quality cheese and fine foods, to bring these cheeses into Croome’s range.
Inventory manager Paul Heasman, said: “Following the sad demise of the Abergavenny flavoured cheddar range, we were delighted when a conversation opened up with Nick about keeping it alive. The products have a loyal customer base, and we were keen to play our part in maintaining supplies for existing and new customers. It has been a pleasure to work with the Croome team on the project, and good to see these famous names back on the shelves.”
Croome Cheese stockists, Evans of Monmouth and Hawkridge Farmhouse Dairy Produce, are also thrilled the Welsh cheeses are available again.
Louise Gouldingay of Evans said: “Our customers were so disappointed when we had to let them know that the range was no longer being made. Thank goodness for Nick and the team at Croome Cheese for picking up the mantle. The mini truckles are extremely popular with household grocery boxes and the larger 1.5kg rounds are perfect for our local hospitality industry. Our personal favourite is Harlech – the taste is simply stunning!”
