Pevensey Blue

In 2018, our Borough Market shop manager Martin Tkalez and his wife Hazel moved to East Sussex to make cheese. There, on an ancient area of drained marshland, the cows of Court Lodge farm graze, producing organic milk of exceptional quality. Hazel’s parents own the adjacent farm, and it was there that Martin and Hazel set up a small creamery in which to develop a cheese recipe that they hoped would add something different to the world of British blue cheese. Pevensey was inspired by Gorgonzola: a soft and creamy cheese that expresses increasing sweetness as it ripens. A trip to Lombardy, Italy to research Gorgonzola proved largely fruitless – they couldn’t find a suitable farmhouse producer to learn from – so they taught themselves via online videos, cheesemaking courses, the acquired knowledge of the Neal’s Yard Dairy team and every written resource about blue cheese that they could lay their hands on. Eventually, they were able to create a cheese that they were proud of.

Martin Tkalez worked in our shops for years before embarking on the creation of Pevensey Blue. We’ve been involved in all stages of its conception, from advising on the type of cheese they should be making, to working with them in the maturing rooms and, as the cheeses started to be made, providing suggestions for improvement.