The art of traditional cheese making is still alive at Coombe Farm in Somerset as food writer Marie-Pierre Moine discovered on a visit to Waitrose's English Cheddar supplier.
Coombe Farm's cheesemakers have been making Cheddar for over 60 years. They still use the traditional method of turning the curd by hand, which produces a consistent taste, and the clean, slightly nutty flavour that is characteristic of English Cheddar. Coombe Farm supplies Waitrose with all of its own label mild, medium and mature Cheddar, as well as the mild Cheddar on the Service Counter, organic milk and some indulgent dairy desserts. For the cheesemakers involved, the challenge is to produce good-quality cheese in large quantities without sacrificing flavour.
Coombe Farm is also the home of the A H Warren Trust. It was founded in the first half of the last century by Andrew Warren, an inspired farmer with a talent for business, who decided that cheese making was the best possible use of the milk from his cows. He combined entrepreneurial skills with a passionate belief in helping people to develop themselves. The dairy business he established still flourishes 20 years after his death, and now numbers 10 farms. I went to Coombe Farm to meet the people - and, of course, the cows who produce the milk for this outstanding cheese...
The farmer
Guy Coleman used to work with his brother as an agricultural contractor until the Trust gave him the opportunity to run his own farm five years ago. Looking after the welfare and productivity of a herd of 300 Holstein Friesian cows is no ordinary nine-to-five job. The farms in the Trust are all accredited by Freedom Foods, the RSPCA's farm assurance scheme, which means they adhere to strict codes protecting animal welfare. It also means, in true Waitrose style, that the foods are totally traceable from the shelf back to the farm.
A lot of investment and effort go into making sure the cows are housed in state-of-the-art sheds, with large stalls lined with comfortable latex foam, high ceiling lights and plenty of fresh water in the troughs - the cattle equivalent of a luxury hotel. And it's a room with a pretty stunning view of the gently sloping pastures and rolling Somerset hills where the cows graze during the summer months.
The whole cheese making business always begins with plenty of milk. High-yielding cows can produce up to 50 litres of milk a day, which is just as well as it takes about 10 litres of milk to produce one kilo of cheese. (The milk isn't all destined for cheese making: Coombe Farm organic milk is sold under Waitrose's own label, and is also used to make a range of delicious desserts, as we shall see.)
While there are too many cows for each individual to have a name - alas, I met no Daisy, although Guy did introduce me to a rather wilful Fluffy - they all get plenty of individual attention and home visits from the vet whenever there is the slightest doubt about their health.
The cheesemaker
When Martyn Gosney first took on a Saturday job at Coombe Farm 26 years ago (about the time the dairy started supplying Waitrose), he was still at school. Becoming a professional cheesemaker wasn't something he had thought about. But he liked the work and the Trust encouraged him to make a career of it.
He prefers the time-honoured method of turning the curd by hand: 'We don't do it by machine here,' Martyn says. Unlike machines, which just do as they're programmed, the hands-on approach makes it possible for Martyn to fine-tune his control of the texture of the curd, and make sure the salt is evenly distributed. His favourite is mild Cheddar, which matures for only three months - slightly faster than mature Cheddar. This means the texture is a little looser and more moisture stays in: 'I want it to be nice and creamy.' Hand-churning is harder work, but Martyn and his colleagues - and the Waitrose buyers - believe it makes finer cheese.
The trust chairman
After Andrew Warren's death 20 years ago, the business became a trust just as he
had planned. Also following his wishes, but perhaps to the surprise of some, his assistant Nancy Ralphs was put in charge. 'I'd done every job on the farm from cleaning out sheds to vaccinating pigs and cows and keeping the books. I knew what he wanted and I was willing to carry the can,' says Nancy.
People soon realised that Nancy was no pushover. To this day she still does whatever needs doing, however small. During the grim days of the foot-and-mouth epidemic (which spared Coombe Farm but still left them quarantined like others), she got into the habit of picking up the mail from the post office depot near her home. This is a practice she has kept up.
'I bring in the post every morning, open it up and put all the stuff they don't need in the wastepaper basket - like unnecessary training courses,' she says with a grin.
The managing director
As the MD, Philip Cook sees himself as being at the centre of an intricate spider's web. Essentially, his job is to find the best way to produce high-quality dairy products with a short shelf-life and sell them at a good price, while keeping waste to a minimum and maintaining the Trust's nurturing structure. This is no small challenge in today's economic climate, but Philip enjoys being involved in a 'farm to table' dairy food business, with first-rate farms at its core, and in a position to maintain total traceability.
Alongside milk and cheese, a fast-growing line is indulgent dairy desserts. Coombe Farm began producing these four years ago when they heard Waitrose was looking for special recipe desserts. The range includes chocolate mousse, crème br�lée, toffee, chocolate and sherry trifles - all exclusive to Waitrose. They're proving so popular that the farm is working on some new recipes at the time of writing.
The commercial director
Grading is an important part of Graham Fry's job. This involves tasting the cheese to decide whether it will be suitable for selling as mild, medium or mature. The mild Cheddar has a discreet flavour and a creamy texture and taste. Medium has a slightly more pronounced flavour with the same creamy texture. Mature has a gently nutty, clean taste.
Graham is very enthusiastic about the importance of bacteria in cheese making. Bacteria get the whole process going when the starter culture is added to the milk, and flourish while it's heated. They finally stop multiplying once the salt is added and stirred in. Maturing the cheese at no more than 9-10°C helps to keep the bacteria's activity to the level the cheesemakers prefer. Graham reckons that bacteria 'are the unsung heroes of cheese making'. But, considering their painstaking dedication to quality, it is perhaps the Coombe Farm cheesemakers who deserve this accolade.
This article was first published on Waitrose.com in September 2003.