Cheesy grins for a blue vein winner
Sep 9 2009 by Kelley Price, Evening Gazette
A CHEESEMAKER from Hutton Henry near Hartlepool has secured one of the most coveted awards for speciality food producers in the UK, just 14 months after ditching her career as an office worker.
The Durham Cow Cheese Company, named after a local legend, shared top honours with four other quality producers in the Made In Britain Food Producer of the Year awards jointly given by Country Living Magazine and Waitrose.
The awards recognise quality, innovation and use of traditional skills.
Each won £5,000 from Waitrose to develop their business and the opportunity to sell their product in local Waitrose stores.
Julia Cammiss’ blue veined cheese will now go through to be considered for overall Champion of the Year, to be announced at the Royal County of Berkshire Show on September 19.
“I’d been thinking about making cheese since holidaying in France six years ago and I just felt I wanted to do something for my region,” said 48-year-old Mrs Cammiss, who buys the milk for her cheese from local farmers. “There wasn’t a soft blue cheese available with a North-east stamp on it - so that was my goal.
“Now that I’ve had such good feedback with my first cheese, I can see that there is scope for more varieties so that’s my next step.”
She added: “I’m just so passionate about making my cheese and I hope it inspires more people to produce local food to put the North-east firmly on the foodie map.”
Richard Hodgson, Waitrose commercial director, added: “The innovation and dedication shown by this year’s finalists prove that small producers are major players in the British food arena.”
