Supporting the cheese makers

I am skipping the dumpster fire that is the British Conservative Party’s leadership and conference in Birmingham UK this week, but there should be a way to force a general election on this, so perhaps more than 81,000 people and their dogs can have a vote on the direction this country is going in.

In the meantime, it is important support your cheese makers, who are reeling from things like Ukrainian war, continued fallout from Covid, and the increased prices for electricity and gas. I know of one British deli owner’s refrigeration bill that has gone to £1,000 (€1,143*) a week. How does anybody stay in business?

One way to help is to buy the cheese and accompanying drinks, biscuits, charcuterie and chutneys. The Academy of Cheese is once again joining forces with artisanal cheese makers, retailers and wholesalers for the third year running to create the Big Cheese Weekender. Taking place 7-9 October 2022, the weekend has been created to support the cheese industry, while spreading knowledge and enjoyment of this specialist sector to consumers.

The British Cheese Weekender was set up in 2020 by food journalist and author, Patrick McGuigan, and Academy of Cheese director, Tracey Colley, in response to the pandemic and its effects on independent British cheese makers.

This year’s collaborative project, organised by the Academy of Cheese, has the new title of Big Cheese Weekender to recognise the international reach of the academy and its cheese making members from around the world. Academy students currently study and taste over 300 cheeses from 34 countries, giving not only a knowledge of the cheeses, but also an understanding of the history, culture, terroir and traditions of each region. Big Cheese Weekender will showcase some of the UK and Europe’s best cheese industry experts with a series of free, online events, including cheese tastings, masterclasses, chefs’ demos and dairy tours.

It begins at 15:30 on Friday 7 October with a line-up of over 30 events happening every 30 minutes across the weekend. Both the trade and public are invited to join in at: www.bigcheeseweekender.com to start enjoying the activities.

I think it’s a good way to support the trade. It has the added benefit of cheering a person up by eating cheese and other delightful things. Always a winner.

And, finally, we’d like to welcome back Samantha Bull from maternity leave with her second daughter. #TeamDairy is back! Please contact Samantha Bull at [email protected] for information on the November and December issues of Dairy Industries International.

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