Here's Why You Should Be Stocking Sharpham Cheeses!

Here’s why you should be stocking Sharpham Cheeses!

Sharpham Cheeses: Here’s why you should be stocking them!

Sharpham Cheese are one of our longest serving suppliers – since almost the beginning of Orchardlea.

They are one of four suppliers joining us at this years Source Food & Drink Trade show on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th February at Westpoint Exeter!

We’ll be there showcasing our own extensive range of products alongside some of our fantastic suppliers: Curworthy Cheese, West Country Olives, Ginger Cat Deli and, of course, Sharpham Cheese.

To celebrate these wonderful suppliers and their fantastic produce we’re highlighting each of them in turn; learning more about their history and back story as well as discovering more about how their products are made and showing why they should be in your next order.

Today it’s the turn of Sharpham Cheese – Here’s why you should be stocking them!

A Bit of History

We have been stocking Sharpham Cheeses almost since the beginning of Orchardlea and their artisan products are incredibly popular with our customers in both retail and bulk sizes.

Sharpham Cheese was established by Maurice Ash back in the 1970’s. Legend has it that the reason he originally got into cheesemaking was that milk prices began to slump and it was a way of diversifying and ensuring longevity for the farm. This certainly worked!

Today Sharpham is owned and run by Greg and Nicky Parsons who are steering the business into the future continually developing new cheeses, recipes and innovative methods of production.

Alongside this Sharpham are also deeply rooted in tradition and their cheeses are all made by hand using traditional methods and the best local ingredients.

Milk

All of the milk used to produce the Sharpham cheese range is sourced from local farms with whom Sharpham have built solid relationships over the years.

Coolings Farm in East Prawle South Devon suppliers them with goats’ milk as well as being the home of Sharpham’s own herd of cows while Churchlands Farm in Modbury South Devon supply Sharpham with their ewes milk.

Today Sharpham produce 10 artisan cheeses, each with their own signature flavours and characteristics. Here’s why you should be stocking them!

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. A great addition to a classic cheeseboard.

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. Makes a deliciously creamy pasta sauce.

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. Try it crumbled over salad in the summer or just with crusty bread and fruit at any time of year!

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.

Here’s why you should be stocking them!

Sharpham Cremet (pre-order item)

Another of my favourites from Sharpham this is made using goats milk and enriched with cow’s double cream. This is like nothing else I have tasted before, it is rich and luxurious with such a depth of flavour. Last year it won multiple awards including Three Stars at the 2023 Great Taste Awards.

Sharpham Rustic with Dulse & Sea Lettuce (pre-order item)

Another variation of the Sharpham Rustic this one is combined with local hand-harvested seaweed which give it a wonderful savoury, umami flavour.

Sharpham Rushmore (pre-order item)

This delightful cheese is the result of a fortunate mistake when a farmer accidentally poured goat’s milk into a cow’s milk tank. To avoid wasting a whole tank the team continued to produce the cheese and the results were incredible. It went on to win Gold at the 2023 Global Cheese Awards!

Sharpham Camembert (pre-order item)

A moist, soft and creamy example of this French classic with a Devon twist.

These cheeses are all available to order in whole rounds while some are also available as bespoke cuts to order and retail pre-packs. Click here for exact sizes and for more info.

Sharpham Crackers and Chutney

Following the success of these products over the Christmas period we are delighted to be continuing stocking the Sharpham award-winning crackers and chutney this year!

Made in collaboration with fellow Devon business The Fresh Flour Company, these delicious crackers are the perfect accompaniment to the Sharpham cheeses. A truly artisan product no two crackers are the same and each has a unique flavour coming from the combination of sourdough starters and flour.

Original Sourdough (pre-order item)

Rosemary & Sea Salt Sourdough (pre-order item)

Available in cases of 8 x 100g packs

The Sharpham range of chutneys are also produced in collaboration with a fellow Devon business, this time Highfield Preserves. These small batch chutneys are the perfect balance of flavour and texture to compliment the Sharpham cheeses as well as being great additions to picnics as well as in cooking.