West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers

Their dairy is nestled in the beautiful Bride Valley in Dorset which provides a tranquil setting for the Ashley Chase cheesemakers to use their traditional skills in making some of the tastiest West Country Farmhouse Cheddar.

We have to be up very early. Our cheesemaking process begins at four in the morning, everyday! We use milk from our neighbouring farm and a few other carefully chosen local herds. We believe in maintaining the age-old tradition of handmaking our farmhouse cheese so we cheddar, cut and salt the curds by hand. Whilst it only takes a matter of hours to turn the milk into cheese, it can take over 12 months for it to reach it's optimum maturity and flavour level. We like to think that this attention to detail means our cheese will taste just the same as it has for three centuries, with a complexity of flavour and a long finish.

We are very proud of our cheesemaking skills so being awarded PDO status was a just reward for our efforts and our commitment to authenticity.

Greg Parsons