The British Cheese Weekender

Supporting British Cheese

We are all confronting challenging times at the moment, yet our small British cheesemakers are particularly impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis.

Farmhouse and artisan cheesemakers are being forced to pour thousands of litres of milk down the drain after many lost up to 90% of their business overnight when restaurants were closed down. Many shoppers used supermarkets to stock up on hard and grating cheeses, typically made by large food manufacturers. At the same time, the farm animals can't be furloughed - cows, sheep and goats continue to produce milk every day that must be used or be thrown away.

“The future of Britain's farmhouse and specialist cheesemakers is in the balance - we could see many of the country's best cheeses lost for ever as family farms and small cheesemaking businesses are pushed to the wall, ” warned cheesemaker Catherine Mead, chair of the SCA.

What is the British Cheese Weekender and how can you join in?

The British Cheese Weekender is an initiative from the Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA), Academy of Cheese and the Guild of Fine Food with support from cheese writer Patrick McGuigan. It takes place over the Early May Bank Holiday weekend (8-10 May) and will be a virtual festival of all British cheese.

Our cheesemongers are looking forward to having some fun with British cheese in these challenging times and have organised the following FREE, online events:

Friday 8th May 2020 - Paxton's Cheese Quiz

Call yourself a curd nerd? Think you know your Cheddar from you Comte? (open to all cheese lovers, amateur or professional) Join Dan, shop manager at Paxton & Whitfield Jermyn Street, for a fun Friday night cheese quiz… with cheesy prizes!

When: 20.00 GMT
Where: Enter your email address here to receive the Zoom quiz invitation

Saturday 9th May 2020 - English Territorials

Join Hero Hirsh, Paxton’s Head of Retail, for an afternoon talk about one of her favourite styles of cheese – the territorials. From Single Gloucester to Caerphilly, Cheshire to Lancashire.

When: 3:30pm
Where: Instagram Live - Follow us on Instagram @paxtonscheese for more details.

Saturday 9th May 2020 - Cheese Myth-Busting

Cheese Myth Busting with Dan Bliss and Jazz Reeves. Dan and Jazz manage our shops in Jermyn Street and Stratford upon Avon respectively, and regularly hear some weird and wonderful stories about cheese. So does cheese really give you nightmares? And what exactly are those crunchy bits in cheese..? Tune in to find out.

When: 7:30pm
Where: Instagram Live - Follow us on Instagram @paxtonscheese for more details.

Paxton & Whitfield and British Cheese

Paxton & Whitfield have supported the artisan, British cheese industry for over 200 years and we are proud to have have helped it blossom and thrive; with our passionate consumers recognising the value of buying the quality artisan cheese and supporting our small cheesemakers who deliver such incredible tasting cheese.

We took the difficult decision to close three of our retail shops due to Covid-19, however we have expanded our capacity for online orders and chilled home deliveries; with all safety precautions taken. We have also have adjusted our range to support more British cheesemakers and to deliver quality and comforting, artisan cheese favourites to our customers.

If you're unable to join the live events, you can also use our free resources to experience more of the fascinating, British cheese industry. Listen to our British Cheese history podcast, try our British cheese recipes and of course, browse our online shop and why not try some cheese from indie British cheesemakers that you may not have tasted before.