Meet the Maker: Lynher Dairies and the family behind two award-winning cheeses

The story of Lynher Dairies begins with a recipe written more than 400 years ago and continues today at one of Britain's most celebrated family dairies.

In 1984, Jenny and Alan Gray discovered a copy of The English Huswife, first published in 1615 by Gervase Markham, in the attic of a Cornish farmhouse. Inside was a recipe for a nettle-wrapped cheese. Inspired by that discovery, Jenny and Alan revived the recipe, naming the cheese simply by reversing their surname. Cornish Yarg was born.

More than forty years later, Lynher Dairies continues to celebrate that remarkable origin while looking firmly to the future. Under the stewardship of Catherine Mead, the dairy has become one of Britain's most admired artisan cheesemakers, while Catherine herself has helped champion the wider industry through her work with the Specialist Cheesemakers Association. Today, the next chapter is already underway, with her son Otto Mead taking on the day-to-day leadership of the family dairy.

This year's Great Taste Awards recognised two of Lynher Dairies' finest creations, with Cornish Kern earning the coveted 3 Star award and Cornish Yarg receiving an impressive 2 Stars. It's the perfect moment to look beyond the medals and meet the people behind the cheeses.

The Full Story

When Catherine Mead took over Lynher Dairies, she inherited far more than a recipe. She became custodian of one of Britain's most distinctive cheeses while helping to shape the future of artisan cheesemaking.

Alongside leading the dairy, Catherine has spent decades championing British producers through her work with the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, helping to ensure that traditional skills continue to thrive while encouraging innovation across the industry. Today, that commitment continues through the next generation, with Otto Mead now taking on the day-to-day leadership of the business.

Cornish Yarg remains unlike any other British cheese. Inspired by a recipe first published in The English Huswife in 1615, it is still wrapped entirely by hand in fresh nettle leaves.

Each May and June, when the young nettles are at their best, tonnes of fresh leaves are foraged from around the dairy and surrounding Cornish countryside. Otto Mead describes it as an "all hands on deck" time of year, with friends, family and the local community all helping to gather the year's harvest before the season disappears for another year. That close connection to the landscape continues throughout the seasons, with the arrival of spring also bringing Wild Garlic Yarg, wrapped in hand-foraged wild garlic leaves gathered from the woodlands surrounding the dairy.

Once harvested, the nettles are frozen to remove their sting before one of the most painstaking jobs in British cheesemaking begins. Every single nettle leaf is meticulously applied by hand by Lynher's skilled cheesemakers, creating the distinctive natural rind that has become synonymous with Cornish Yarg. Beneath that remarkable rind lies a cheese that's bright, herbaceous and fresh, with a creamy, yoghurt-like character that has made Cornish Yarg one of Britain's most recognisable modern classics.

While Cornish Yarg celebrates a recipe from the past, Cornish Kern reflects Lynher Dairies' spirit of innovation.

Inspired by Alpine cheesemaking traditions and made using milk from the dairy's own Ayrshire herd, Kern is crafted using Alpine starter cultures before the curds are scalded, pressed into large truckles and matured beneath its distinctive black wax for up to 22 months. The result is a cheese of remarkable depth, with notes of roasted almonds, brown butter, savoury richness and a long, lingering finish.

Its success was immediate. Launched in 2017, Cornish Kern was crowned Supreme Champion at the World Cheese Awards within its first year on the market, an extraordinary achievement for a brand-new British cheese. Nearly a decade later, it continues to impress, most recently earning this year's coveted 3 Star Great Taste Award.

That commitment to quality begins long before the milk reaches the dairy. For many years, Lynher's cheeses were made using milk from a pedigree Ayrshire herd at nearby Gadles Farm. When the farmers who had cared for the herd retired, Lynher Dairies purchased the herd themselves, ensuring the same cows would continue to provide the rich, grass-fed milk that has become the foundation of both Cornish Yarg and Cornish Kern. It's another example of the long-term thinking that runs through every part of the dairy.

While the cheeses themselves deserve every accolade, Lynher Dairies has always been about more than what leaves the maturing rooms. Sustainability runs through the business, from caring for the Ayrshire herd and the Cornish landscape to continually improving how the dairy works. That commitment has earned Lynher both Certified B Corporation status and a King's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.

Together, Cornish Yarg and Cornish Kern tell the story of Lynher Dairies. One draws inspiration from a recipe first published more than four centuries ago. The other is a modern British cheese that has already earned its place among the world's finest. Both reflect the same commitment to craftsmanship, patience and innovation that has defined the dairy under Catherine Mead's leadership and continues with Otto today.

At Paxton & Whitfield, we've long admired Lynher Dairies not only for the exceptional cheeses they create, but for their contribution to British artisan cheesemaking. Their story is one of heritage, innovation and stewardship, and these latest Great Taste Awards are another well-deserved chapter in that journey.