Two cheeses from the South West have been named as finalists in ‘People’s Cheese 2025: Britain’s Best New Cheese’, sponsored by Chiswick Cheese Market, with organisers, The Real Cheese Project, now calling upon cheese lovers to reserve their tasting boxes and join the public judging panel for the online final on Wednesday 24 September.
The two entries from the South West to make the cut include Nanny Gwynn, a goat’s milk version of Cornish Brie from Philip Stansfield and the team at Cornish Cheese Co. in Liskeard, Cornwall, which is creamy, clean and fresh with a delicate hint of goat’s milk, and Redlap from Stone Tree Dairy in Dartmouth Devon, a hard, washed rind goat’s cheese, made using raw milk from Stone Tree’s own herd.
These two cheeses will line up alongside Yr Afr made by Brad Cunningham at Wacky Wedge in Bethesda, North Wales, a Crottin-style lactic goat’s cheese produced using raw milk, as well as Ooh La La from Rory Stone at Highland Fine Cheeses in Ross and Cromarty, a soft and silky lactic cheese with a delicately textured geotrichum rind, made with cow’s milk and a little extra cream.
Hundreds of people took part in Round 1 of the competition at Chiswick Cheese Market on Sunday 15 June, where they tasted and assessed 20 newly launched cheeses from across the UK to select this year’s finalists. Reflecting changing tastes and attitudes among consumers, three out of four finalists are made with goat’s milk, while three of the four are also soft cheeses.
The live online final will be broadcast on Wednesday 24 September at 7pm, hosted by comedian and cheese fan, Marcus Brigstocke, along with The Real Cheese Project’s James Grant and a panel of experts. Following interviews with the cheesemakers and presentations from each guest, viewers will be invited to vote for this year’s Champion at the end of the show. To take part, would-be judges simply need to reserve their box, await delivery and tune in on the night.
The ‘People’s Cheese 2025: Britain’s Best New Cheese’ final tasting boxes are available to purchase now, priced at £40 per box, including delivery.
5% of all profits will go into a Real Cheese support fund, which will be donated to initiatives that protect, develop and progress real cheese in the UK.
