milk type
Sheep
ingredients
MILK, salt, rennet
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Cartmel, Cumbria
milk source
Own herd
breed
Lacaune
season
Spring-Summer-Autumn
average age
2-4 Months
cheesemakers
Martin Gott
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Martin Gott, the maker of St James, is one of the rare breed of cheesemakers who propagate their own starter cultures rather than buying them in.
background
our work with this cheese
Accompaniments
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St James
A washed-rind ewe’s milk cheese that is strongly influenced by seasonality, ranging from a buttery softness to a more firm and granular texture


Martin Gott, the maker of St James, is one of the rare breed of cheesemakers who propagate their own starter cultures rather than buying them in.
milk type
Sheep
ingredients
MILK, salt, rennet
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Cartmel, Cumbria
milk source
Own herd
breed
Lacaune
season
Spring-Summer-Autumn
average age
2-4 Months
cheesemakers
Martin Gott
background
Martin Gott developed St James at Holker Farm in Cumbria, which he runs with his partner Nicola Robinson. It was given its name as a tribute to the late James Aldridge, one of the great pioneers of British cheesemaking – and it is a cheese of which James would doubtless approve. St James is made from the raw milk of the farm's flock of Lacaune ewes; as the milk changes throughout the lactation, so does the character of the cheese. From the beginning of the season in February through to November, variations in the texture and flavour of the cheese are seen. Martin propagates his own starter cultures, a process that he feels imparts the whole cheese with the flavours of the farm. Three times a week for three to four weeks, the cheeses are individually washed in a brine and turned, allowing them to form their striking orange-yellow rind, with its rich, savoury depth.
our work with this cheese
We visit Holker Farm Dairy on our monthly trips up north to taste and select cheeses to sell. Martin, who we've known since his time as a young man working at Borough Market, is very proactive in experimenting with his make, so our visits are always highly engaging and constructive.