Wensleydale is a recipe traditionally associated with Yorkshire. However, Tom and Clare Noblet's farm, in the rugged hills of eastern Cumbria, is every bit a marginal hill-farm similar to those where farmhouse dales-style cheeses would once have been made.
Location
Near Carnforth, Cumbria
Our work with this cheese
We visit the Noblets once a month to offer feedback and taste and select the batches of cheese we are interested in maturing and selling. In September 2017, our cheese buyer Bronwen visited and made cheese with Clare, to share ideas and watch the traditional Wensleydale recipe in action. We are really invested in supporting the Noblets as they develop their recipe and their cheesemaking business. This young couple, who have recently taken up dairy farming full time, are looking to the cheese as a way to add value to their milk and make a small farm lifestyle sustainable. We expect the cheese to evolve significantly over the next few years as they refine their methods. It's fascinating how working with them has helped us to unpack our preconceptions of what Wensleydale is. Where we once expected crumbly texture and bright acitdity, we have come to love the pliant texture of Whin Yeats. As a British cheese shop it feels essential that we have a raw milk farmhouse Wenselydale on our counter.