Barkham Blue
An award-winning, intensely buttery British blue cheese, which owes its dense richness to the Channel Islands milk from which it is made.
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Product Details
Intensely Buttery Barkham Blue Cheese
Barkham Blue cheese is a relatively mellow blue, with a peppery tang to the blue and rind.
Barkham Blue has a wonderful creaminess due to its rich milk. When young it is firm and dense with wonderful grassy notes. As it matures it softens and the buttery quality of the milk is more evident. The cheese melts in the mouth and never leaves the harsh metallic taste sometimes associated with blue cheeses.
A unique, artisan blue which has a distinctive appearance. The whole mould ripened cheese is just under 1kg in weight, ammonite shaped and covered in an attractive, natural, rustic rind. The deep yellow moist interior is spread with dark bluey green veins.
There is a fundamental difference to how the French cheese market works and how we make cheese in the UK. By and large, in France they work very much within the AOC naming system – as such there will be many makers of Comte, Roquefort, Camembert de Normandie etc etc etc, and our job as mongers is to seek out the very best maker of these iconic cheeses. In the UK, with a couple of notable exceptions like Cheddar or Stilton, cheeses tend to be made by a single farm, dairy or family. This means that when those makers no longer want to continue, for example they would like to retire, we face the very real possibility of losing that cheese for forever.
Barkham Blue has been produced by the Rose family in Berkshire for over 20 years, winning many awards for this unique ammonite shaped blue cheese. Recently, they took the decision that it was time for them to ‘hang up their aprons’ and explore new adventures. However, we are absolutely thrilled that rather than lose this cheese to the midst of time, Barkham Blue will be returning to our counters! Cheesemaking must be in the blood for this family, as Sandy Rose’s cousin is none other that Anne Wigmore of Village Maid Cheese. The Wigmore family recently started making Barkham Blue alongside their stalwart cheeses Waterloo, Wigmore and Maida Vale and we are confident that it will be as delicious as ever.
Barkham Blue is produced with milk from Channel Island cows. Sandy’s father had farmed this breed and the origin of the recipe was based on her desire to make a cheese specifically from this incredibly rich and golden milk – no mean feat for a blue cheese, where fatty rich milk can cause a few hurdles in cheese make. It’s a milk that the Wigmore family also use in their Waterloo cheese and are very comfortable working with. It had the most delicate, thin rind and a delicious texture like cold butter.
If you're looking for a drinks pairing, the creamy, gently spiced Barkham Blue is fantastic when contrasted by the sweet, juicy dark fruit of Paxton's Vintage Port.
Awards
- 2022 Great Taste Award Winner
- 2019 World Cheese Awards: Gold
- 2018 British Cheese Awards: Gold
- 2017 World Cheese Awards: Gold
Nutritional Information
How To
Cheese delivery
FREE UK* Delivery when you spend over £40
Fresh, Overnight UK Cheese Delivery
Overnight Cheese Delivery: Our UK delivery charge is £6.95 for UK* orders under £40. Delivery for orders over £40 is free.
*Please note Free UK Delivery is only valid for deliveries to the UK mainland and also excludes deliveries to the Scottish Highlands. We do not currently deliver to Northern Ireland and we do not deliver to international locations outside of the UK.
Named day deliveries on all orders: You can select a delivery date on Tuesday - Saturday when you go to checkout. (Please note. a surcharge of £5 applies to Saturday deliveries) .
Chilled overnight cheese delivery: All of our cheese parcels are cooled with re-usable ice packs and insulated with recyclable packaging. We always use an overnight delivery service for UK mainland orders to ensure that your cheese arrives with you in fine condition.
Hand cut & hand wrapped: Our cheese for online orders is hand cut to order and hand wrapped in Paxton & Whitfield wax paper by our expert cheesemongers. Your cheese will have approximately 12 days shelf life on them from the date of despatch.
Delivery tracking & notifications: Please provide your mobile phone number or email address and you will receive tracking details and anticipated delivery times. On the day that your order is despatched, you will recieve a notification that your delivery is on its way and an anticipated 1 hour delivery time slot.
Carbon-neutral delivery: Our delivery partners at DPD commit to make every parcel they deliver carbon neutral. They measure their CO2 emissions, strive to reduce them, and offset the remaining emissions.
No signature required: You may use the "Delivery Instructions" in the ordering process to provide succinct instructions such as "leave in the garage if out" (choose a cool place) if the recipient is out. The driver is instructed to leave your parcel somewhere safe if you are out to ensure that the cheese is not delayed or held for too long in a warehouse. We regret we cannot accept responsibility for the condition of the goods or non-receipt if goods are not signed for.
UK Highlands & Islands Delivery
There are some places we simply can't get to in under a day and cost more for delivery. If you live in the UK Highlands or Islands, or in a particularly remote location then an additional delivery charge and longer delivery time may apply. You will be notified of any additional charge when you go to checkout.
Click & Collect
If you would prefer to avoid the queues, rather not wait for delivery or avoid delivery cost then try our FREE order online Click & Collect service.
Simply order on line one day and collect your purchases the next day from your chosen shop. This service is available at all four Paxton & Whitfield shops in Jermyn Street, London; Cale Street, London and Bath.
This service is only available for the items that are listed on our web-site. If you want to place an order for products that are not included on the web-site please call the shop and place a telephone order for the entirety of your order directly with them on the phone. See Visit Our Shops for contact details and maps of each shop. Please note that we are unable to process orders that include items for collection from one of the shops as well as items for delivery. If you want to split your purchase please place two separate orders – one for collection and one for delivery.
Place and pay for your order online
Orders placed before 5pm are available for collection at your chosen shop after 11am the next day that the shop is open. (Pick ups not available Sundays and Bank Holidays).
Orders placed after 5pm are available for collection at your chosen shop after 2pm the next day that the shop is open. (Pick ups not available Sundays and Bank Holidays).
If you do not want to pick up your goods the following day, please specify in the comments box of the Order Form the day and approximate time (ie morning before 1pm/afternoon after 12 noon) that you want to collect the goods. Please note that 2 full working days are required for any orders which include a Ham.
Pickup In Store
Maps and opening times of our shops are available at Visit Our Shops. Details of the shop that you have chosen to collect from will be shown on your receipt.
Please give a contact number so that we can call you if there are any issues with your order.
On arrival at the Shop please make your way to the counter where a sales assistant will be able to collect your purchases. At particularly busy times, for example, just before Christmas please make your way to the Collection Point which will be clearly identifiable.
To ensure we are handing over your purchase to the correct person, please bring with you a copy of your order receipt email or, at a minimum, your order number. Goods will not be released without this information.
Your order will be available for collection for 24 hours. If you are unable to collect it within that time, please contact the shop from where you were meant to be collecting your goods (see Visit Our Shops) to rearrange collection.