Top ​​Northern Ireland cheese makers win ‘grate’ UK industry acclaim

Artisans Mike Thomson of Mike’s Fancy Cheese (MFC) in Newtownards and Davide and Sarah Thani of Velocheese in east Belfast have just been recognised by the prestigious UK Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA) for their diverse products, the first time Northern Ireland has received two major

SCA awards in the same year.

Mike Thomson won the James Aldridge Memorial Trophy - donated by the Prince of Wales - for the Best British Raw Milk Cheese and the Thani husband and wife partnership behind Velocheese gained the Dougal Campbell Bursary Award.

Mike, a pioneer of raw milk cheese production in Northern Ireland since 2014, was nominated by his peers in the artisan cheese industry for his multi-award-winning Young Buck blue cheese.

Young Buck, Northern Ireland’s first raw milk cheese, quickly won acclaim from cheese lovers and chefs and is now also sold by specialist retailers in Britain, the Republic of Ireland, France and Germany.

The cheese has also won UK Great Taste Awards and Blas na hEireann Irish National Food Awards.

Commenting on the award, Mike, who also runs a specialist cheese store in Belfast city centre, said: “I am thrilled to be nominated for this immensely important award for craft cheese production.

“It’s a marvellous endorsement of Young Buck in particular and great recognition in Britain for Northern Ireland’s small but fast developing specialist cheese sector.

"I hope this award will help to increase awareness of Young Buck and other local cheeses among delis, farm shops, specialist stores as hotel chefs across the UK and further afield.”

Established in 1989, SCA promotes and celebrates the UK and Ireland’s craft cheesemakers. It’s an alliance of cheesemakers, retailers, wholesalers and others involved with artisan cheese and was established to encourage excellence in cheese making including raw milk products.

It provides a forum for members to exchange ideas and represents the interests of members to the government and media. Local members include Dart Mountain Cheese at Claudy. The award for Mike Thomson is named after James Aldridge, one of the true pioneers of artisan cheese in Britain. In homage to this great pioneer, the SCA invites its members each year to send in nominations for the best British raw milk cheese for that year.

Every eligible cheese that receives a nomination is included in the judging. This is to encourage members to nominate new cheeses and will help the lesser known raw milk cheeses to gain confidence and recognition. After the panel of SCA experts judge the entries, a winner is picked and awarded the prestigious James Aldridge Trophy to keep for one year and a hand crafted scroll to keep for eternity.

The Dougal Campbell Bursary o £1,000 awarded to Davide and Sarah Thani of Velocheese in Belfast was named after a pioneering figure in the world of farming, and the founder of Welsh Organic Foods, the first specialist organic cheese making company in Britain.

Campbell learned the skills of cheese making in the high Alps of Switzerland, using milk from cows that grazed on the herb-rich pastures of the Alps. Inspired by this, cheese making developed into his life’s work. Dougal brought his skills to a small holding near Lampeter in West Wales, where he established a small 15 cow dairy herd and developed an unpasteurised hard cheese, Tyn Grug. His cheese gained national reputation and made him a leading figure in the renaissance of farmhouse cheese making throughout Britain. Dougal was a founder SCA member and a member of the Soil Association Council.

The bursary is payable to the applicant with the best business case for development, but it also comes with the ongoing support of the SCA for the business.

The bursary to Velocheese, a specialist in authentic Italian cheese including mozzarella, follows its recent success as the Best New Cheesemaker in the UK Virtual Cheese Awards.

Davide added: “This is an amazing boost for our small business as we seek to develop sales across the UK and Ireland for unique cheeses. The bursary provides funds to invest in the further development of Velocheese.”

Davide was impressed by the quality of milk in Northern Ireland and excited to be involved in the evolving artisan food world. He started hand stretching mozzarella to his own recipe and also developed burata, stracciatella, scamorza and smoked scamorza recipes.

Originally from Sardinia, Davide and Sarah, a native of Belfast, are providing opportunities for consumers in Northern Ireland to experience fresh mozzarella and burata which is not unlike the experience of moving from instant to fresh coffee.

The business is called Velocheese because Davide is focused on sustainability and wishes to be a leader on minimising waste, pollution and energy use.