CHEESE: BOARD GAMES

Over the past 20 years there’s been a huge revival in British cheesemaking. Requisition during the Second World War meant cheesemakers should only manufacture Government Cheddar, of ‘uniform taste and quality’ which nearly killed the industry. The artisan revival has grown exponentially. Now we’re seeing heritage recipes reintroduced and cheeses that combine European techniques with British ingredients. In

2009, the number of British cheese varietals outnumbered French for the first time. ‘Good cheese is expressive of where it is from,’ says Hero Hirsh, manager of Paxton & Whitfield. ‘You can taste cow parsley on the rind of Lincolnshire’s Cote Hill Cheese as it grows in the fields where the cows graze.’