Cheese Heaven at Paxton & Whitfield, Stratford upon Avon

One of my all time fave things is cheese. And I’m not fussy – as long as it doesn’t come vacuum packed and bland, I’ll gobble up everything from a gooey Camembert to the bluest Stilton. So, I was very pleased to  visit the Stratford upon Avon Paxton & Whitfield shop recently.

First we tried a cheese called Baltic – a mature cheese made in Northumberland with its rind washed in Liverpool’s Baltic Summer ale (hence the name!) – this tangy cheese went perfectly with the Bramley fruit cheese. We then went for the Perl Las which was my favourite and we actually bought a piece to take home. A Welsh blue cheese, hand made and very creamy. Its flavour made me think of Christmas and big family buffets. Not dissimilar to a Roquefort but less gooey. Then, what I thought was another cows cheese turned out to be a semi hard goats cheese called Rachel. We both loved it for its unusual firm texture and although it did taste like goats cheese, it had something extra an almost nutty aftertaste.

Finally, we had the St Eadburgha – the one closest to my Midlands beating heart. a gooey soft cheese with a full farmy flavour which is made in the Vale of Evesham. There’s a nice story to this cheese maker – he started working with Paxton and Whitfield as a Saturday sales assistant before going to study Dairy at the School of Artisan Food to learn how to produce cheese. After another stint with Paxton & Whitfield he then joined Gorsehill Abbey and now makes this cheese and three others. 

In all, Paxton and Whitfield is a lovely British brand with a fantastic heritage. I’ve been to both the Stratford and the Bath shops now and they are equally lovely. I can’t wait to visit the original London store next time I’m down. If you’re not near those places, you can order their cheese online yippeeeee! 

Over and out