Apley Delicatessen cheese counter

Apley cheese by Mr Moyden (photo by Pete Flemmich)

Apley Delicatessen cheese counter was recently shortlisted in the top 10 cheese counters in the UK run by the Guild of Fine Foods. We didn’t make it into the top 3 sadly, but congratulate all our farm shop staff for getting that far, notably Lora & Donna who have recently been on a cheese training course.

Food journalist Patrick McGuigan visited us in August to judge & kindly sent us some very helpful feedback:

“I thought your counter was great – I was seriously impressed with what you have managed to do in a short space of time and with a limited space. I liked the balance between local, national and Continental cheeses, the tasters and what you had done in terms of a training manual. The creation of Apley Cheese with Mr Moyden’s was also a great idea. So you are definitely on the right track.”

His suggestions included visiting local cheesemakers so we can personally hand select the cheeses for the Apley counter. We need to take time out to visit other local cheesemongers too. He added that we should improve our display, host cheese & wine/ beer evenings with a local cheesemaker (I have a couple in mind !) & offer more recipe cards (cheese fondue is a favourite of course !).

Click HERE to read about who won !