British artisan cheese makers beat the French at their own game

Lynher Dairies is the world’s only producer of Cornish Yarg cheese. For 30 years, the company has been making the Caerphilly-style cheese and wrapping it in nettles, all by hand.

The recipe was invented by a Cornish farmer named Alan Gray – “Yarg” is his surname backwards – and the company, now owned by entrepreneur Catherine Mead, makes 230 tonnes a year.

Sales are growing at an exponential rate, rising 34pc in the summer of this year.

The company currently exports just 5pc of its wares abroad because it struggles to fulfil domestic demand. Production was scaled up 17pc in the last few months alone but the company is still operating at capacity.

“We could easily increase our export sales by 20 or 30pc without doing anything,” she says. “But we can’t develop it without the product, and as an artisan cheesemaker, we’re unable to increase production any more.”

Lynher’s range currently consists of just two cheeses: the traditonal nettle Yarg and a wild garlic version. A long maturing Yarg is also in the pipeline, and Mead is currently building a new maturing store to house the cheese for its 15-month ripening period.

The business now turns over more than £2m a year, and employs 30 people, but Mead is wary of allowing the company’s high growth rate to control decisions.

“We are based near Truro and are one of the only employers in the area,” she says. “I’ve seen dairies come and go. There used to be 15 dairy farms in the parish and now there are two. As an employer in a small rural community, I have a responsibility to staff to make sure I don’t take risks.

“Cheese is seeing the same revolution that craft beer has had,” she adds. “We’re all fermenters, so perhaps that’s not so surprising.”

James Metcalfe is a director at Bath Soft Cheeses, which has doubled sales to £1.1m within five years

Bath Soft Cheeses sells its range of products at 30 London markets each month, and the company runs a permanent shop in the capital’s food haven, Borough Market.

The company is currently building a new dairy to cope with demand. “Once the new dairy is built, we’re going to look very seriosuly at export,” says Metcalfe. “Asia is the fastest-growing dairy market in the world and many farmers are hoping to tap into it.”

The Padfield family, which owns Park Farm where the cheese is made, has been making cheese for a century.

“The cheese has taken on a life of its own,” says Hugh Padfield, who launched the farm’s cheese business in the nineties. “We make 40 tonnes of it a year. I took a call only today asking to air freight some of our cheese to Singapore.”

Supermarkets used to be the primary route to market for many cheese makers. But the rise of e-commerce, export markets, and the renewed popularity of farm shops and independents has allowed many cheese makers to move away from the major multiples.

Many of today’s crop of dairy farmers prefer not to do much business with the large retailes, partly due to the way they have fared historically.

“I remember how farmers were treated in the past by the supermarkets,” says Robin Bett, founder of the UK’s first carbon neutral dairy, Winterdale Cheese Barn.

Betts began farming in the 1990’s after the price of milk plummeted because of supermarket pressures. “We supply Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, the Goring hotel, and many restaurants and independent retailers but we prefer to have a personal relationship,” he says. “Supermarkets can drop you without warning.”

He seems proud to be part of the new wave of dairy farmers entering the market. “British cheese making is the UK an incredible place now,” he says. “We are giving the French a run for their money.”

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