St James

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. Flavours are deep, malty and punchy towards the rind, with a milky freshness and tangy note coming from the paste.

*Please note this is a seasonal cheese and is not available year round. 

Portion
Regular price £11.55
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  • Spend over £39.50 to receive free delivery (England, Wales & Central Scotland)

Standard delivery is free to most postcodes in the UK for orders over £39.50. Click here for a list of postcodes where additional delivery charges apply.

For orders under £39.50, standard delivery is £8.00.

Collection from our London shops is free - choose Shop Collection at checkout.

Choose your preferred delivery date at checkout. As we use third party couriers (typically DPD) we cannot guarantee the arrival day of your order but we will do our best to ensure that it arrives as close as possible to your chosen date. To be sure it arrives in time, we recommend choosing a date a couple of days ahead of when you would like to eat your cheese. 

milk type
Sheep

ingredients
Pasteurised Sheep's MILK, Salt, Farm Produced Cheese Cultures (MILK), Animal Rennet

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Pasteurised

location
Cark, Cumbria

milk source
Bought-in

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milk type
Sheep

ingredients
Pasteurised Sheep's MILK, Salt, Farm Produced Cheese Cultures (MILK), Animal Rennet

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Pasteurised

location
Cark, Cumbria

milk source
Bought-in

breed
Lacaune

season
Spring-Summer

average age
2-4 Months

cheesemakers
Martin Gott & Team

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At Holker Farm, they propagate their own starter cultures rather than buying them in.

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...

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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. As the milk changes throughout the season, so does the character of the cheese. From the beginning of the season in February through to September, variations in the texture and flavour of the cheese are seen. At Holker they propagate their own starter culture aiming to impart 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.

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Our Work

On arrival we assess the rinds and flavour of each batch of St James to decide whether it should spend some time in our maturing rooms or be wrapped and kept in our cold rooms for a slower more gra...

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On arrival we assess the rinds and flavour of each batch of St James to decide whether it should spend some time in our maturing rooms or be wrapped and kept in our cold rooms for a slower more gradual ripening.

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Accompaniments

Rosebud Red Onion Port Marmalade
£5.25

FAQs

As a general rule of thumb, we would recommend roughly between 100 and 150 grams per person for after dinner, and a bit more if cheese is the focus of the meal. If you are buying cheese to serve over a couple of days or as part of a buffet, it is advisable to buy a few larger pieces. This will both look better and keep better than many small bits. To help visualise weights, a good tip is to consider that a regular supermarket pat of butter weighs between 200 and 250 grams. If you are at all unsure please give us a call for some advice.

The best option is to keep your cheese wrapped in its paper within a box in the fridge. This will prevent the cheese from drying out and absorbing other flavours. Your cheese will arrive wrapped in waxed cheese paper, which achieves the best possible balance between maintaining humidity around the cheese and allowing it to breathe. We are happy to provide some free extra cheese paper, just search for "cheese paper" and add it to your basket. We don't recommend cling film or foil as it can cause the cheese to sweat which will negatively affect the flavour.

Customer Reviews

Based on 13 reviews
85%
(11)
0%
(0)
15%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
C
Cathy Swan
Interesting

An interesting cheese, my husband disliked it, but I quite enjoyed a little. The texture and taste were similar to a Brie - not particularly sheepy. Not sure I'd buy it again.

M
Margaret Barker
St James

Didn’t look particularly inviting but tasted really good!

Hi Margaret, thank you so much for your feedback. We're happy to hear that you enjoyed St James. If anything is ever amiss, please don't hesitate to get in touch via the Contact us form on the website or ringing us during office hours.
Best wishes,
Magda

J
John Day
Unpleasant to start with, becoming good

3 stars is a compromise between 1 and 5. When this first arrived it had a granular texture and a slightly chalky taste, both of which I found unpleasant. At this point I thought it one of very few cheeses that I have actively disliked. However, after a few days the texture became smooth and the flavour developed a good savoury balance. If it had arrived like this I would have given it 5 stars!

Hi John, thank you so much for your feedback - we appreciate it. Happy to hear that St James was enjoyed in the end.
Kind regards,
NYD

T
Trevor Pollard
For a milder cheese

Pleasant cheese. The paste is subtle. The rind adds to the taste

I like this cheese on its own to concentrate the tastes

Many thanks again Trevor for your review and feedback! It's much appreciated. We're happy to hear that St James was enjoyed!
Best wishes,
NYD

L
Lorraine Scannell
St James

Delicious

We're delighted to hear the St. James was enjoyed. Thank you for your review, Lorraine! Kind regards, NYD