Blogs

Colours in nature

Had some very nice aged Gouda that I picked up at Schiphol last week when visiting the colouring foods fields of the Netherlands and Germany.

Taking back the narrative

I have been travelling a bit this month, and one of the themes has been taking back the dairy narrative from the people who seem to think 10,000 years of history and farming, plus science, count for nothing when looking at whether or not to eat dairy as a human.

Where dairy was born

Istanbul is a vast city, and the 1,300 attendees at the IDF World Dairy Summit may have been just a drop in its 14.6 million inhabitants for the last week.

The Great Dairy Bake Off

Last week, it was dairy’s star turn on that great UK institution, the Great British Bake Off. To say I was happy about this was an understatement.

Business & trade

Welcome back and skills sets

First off I wanted to welcome our own Samantha Bull back to the dairy herd here at Dairy Industries International this week as our advertising sales manager.

Our common heritage

By the time this is published we may have had something else dramatic happen here in the UK, but I for one am happy that Boris is being reined in by the responsible members of his party and the opposition for now.

A comfortable dysfunction

I don’t usually agree with Jeremy Clarkson, although I always liked him on Top Gear and he brings a bit of sass to Who Wants to be a Millionaire? But his Sunday Times column is sometimes another episode of middle aged man whines about…

Snackification summer

It is the last of the lazy days of summer, and instead of eating real meals I am leaning on salads and other easy to manage foods.

Farming and volatility

I’m blaming Irish group Kerry Group, which in its recent report says, “International dairy markets were relatively stable in the period, reflecting less volatility in global supply/demand dynamics.” It’s almost a jinx to discuss how well things are going.

Scrumptious affairs to remember

People are very interested that I spent one day a couple of weeks ago in a field in a white coat, wielding a cheese iron and tasting and discussing cheese with fellow judges at the International Cheese Awards

Judging cheese in a field

The public day for the International Cheese & Dairy Awards at Nantwich was a bit of a washout, with the main agricultural show being cancelled due to concerns about the weather.

The weather files

Here in Western Europe, it has been hot this past week. Amazingly hot (38°C, or 100° Fahrenheit in old money), but I guess we will all have to get used to more of this as the climate changes.

Reasons to be cheerful, part three

This week like most others in recent times is going to be quite eventful here in the UK, but I figured I’d share with you the most happy things going on in dairy instead for this blog.

In this together

Nourish 2019 welcomed speakers to share perspectives, the impact heightened environmental concerns are having on consumers, policy makers and rural communities around the world, and the role the global dairy community can play in creating a truly sustainable future for everyone.

A rose by any other name

The news that Dairy Crest is being rebranded as Saputo Dairy UK comes as little surprise to most of us in the dairy industry.

Reasons to be cheerful with Gen Z

Listening to a group of Gen Z university students at the Dairy UK seminar held the afternoon of the annual dinner, I found reasons to be cheerful.

Cheese-tastic

The International Cheese & Dairy Awards hits the fields in Nantwich next month, and thousands are expected to convene amid the Agricultural Show to celebrate the industry

Your latest trend

We’ve been watching the march of CBD across the food and drink sectors in this part of the industry as something that might be a useful product outside of dairy.

Selling yourself

I have just returned from a holiday in southern Italy. In fact, I was in Campania and ate more mozzarella di bufala than I thought humanly possible.

Countdown to World Milk Day

World Milk Day falls on a Saturday this year, so I thought I’d remind you all so that you can get the bunting out this week and put the halloumi cheese burgers on the barbecue.