We’re continuing to highlight our fantastic in suppliers in our Supplier Spotlight series. Earlier this year we released our new product guide and took the opportunity to get to know more about these amazing producers and of course their delicious products. Today it’s the turn of Sharpham Cheese – read on to discover more!
History
Sharpham Estate began producing cheese back in the 1970’s when a slump in milk prices lead estate owner Maurice Ash to diversify into cheesemaking and Sharpham Cheese was born!
The enduring myth of the origins of Sharpham is that when milk prices began to drop Maurice Ash transported his herd of cows by train from Essex to Devon with a plan to begin producing his favourite cheese – brie!
Over the years new cheeses have been introduced including goats and sheeps varieties but at it’s heart Sharpham Cheese continues to draw on traditional techniques and processes where the pasture, animals, milk and cheese all thrive together to create a truly artisan product.
Today Sharpham Cheese is owned by Greg and Nicky Parsons who both have vast experience in the food industry. They are committed to moving the business forward and in 2022 Sharpham became the first British dairy to become a certified B Corporation. A B Corporation is a business which “meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability”.
In Greg and Nicky’s hands Sharpham Cheese is a thriving artisan cheese maker and Maurice Ash’s legacy lives on.
Cheeses
Sharpham Cheese use milk from their own herds of cows and sheep and goats milk from nearby farms to produce their range of eight artisan cheeses.
Sharpham Brie
One of our bestsellers, this Coulommier style brie is rich and creamy with a delightful yellow colour coming from the Jersey cows milk used in production. Definitely not your standard brie!
Sharpham Rustic
First made by Ticklemore Dairy in the 90’s, this cheese moved to Sharpham in 2003. It is a semi-hard crumbly cheese with a light golden colour and slight citrus flavour.
Sharpham Rustic with Chive & Garlic
A variation on the Rustic this is a rich and crumbly cheese with a fresh herb flavour. The citrus notes in the Rustic perfectly compliment the savoury chives and garlic.
Sharpham Ticklemore
Another cheese originally produced by Ticklemore Dairy this is a delicate and creamy goats cheese. It is made using goat’s milk from three neighbouring farms resulting in a stark white colour and complex goat flavour.
Sharpham Elmhirst (pre-order item)
This is a luxuriously soft cows milk cheese enriched with double cream to create a similar to a classic Vignotte. The texture is smooth and mousse like when young, developing to a gooey and full bodied delight when aged (in case you couldn’t tell ripe Elmhirst is one of our favourite cheeses!).
Sharpham Savour (pre-order item)
This is a semi-hard cheese made from a combination of Jersey cow and Devon goat’s milk. It has a rich and creamy flavour with a wonderful smooth texture and slight tang coming from the goat’s cheese.
These cheeses are all available to order in whole rounds as well as bespoke cuts to order and retail pre-packs. Click here for exact sizes and for more info.
We’re really enjoying our Supplier Spotlight series and we hope that you are too. We released our new product guide earlier this year and to celebrate began this series to highlight our amazing suppliers and their produce. So far we have shone a spotlight on Jessica’s Cakes, Bays Brewery, Jacksons Fishmongers with more to come. Click here to see the rest of our blogs in this series!
