Cornish Gouda Co

PRODUCER: Cornish Gouda Co, Cornwall
PRODUCT: Cornish Gouda
REGION: South West, Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly
CATEGORY: From the Dairy (Artisan)

WHAT THEY DO

One day Giel Spierings came home from school to find a ‘for sale’ sign in front of his family’s farm. His parents could not afford to carry on farming, so Giel concocted a plan to save it. The family had moved to Lanreath, Cornwall in 1998 to run a dairy farm, but when poor milk prices threatened the farm’s viability, Giel suggested diversifying the farm and selling Dutch-style gouda cheese made from their milk. “This is where I decided to start my own business, where I could buy milk from my parents at a fair price. I had to act very quickly to convince my family to not sell the farm, and give me an opportunity to make ends meet for them,” he says.

Having previously made cheese as a hobby, Giel now handcrafts his Cornish gouda in a refurbished shed on the farm, which is run on green energy. Here the cheese matures for varying lengths of time to create mild, medium, semi-mature and mature cheeses. Giel has also developed goudas with different herb combinations, including fenugreek, honey and clover and Italian herbs. Cornish gouda is the first of its kind in the South West.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The judges were moved by the Giel and his family’s story of trying to make a viable business from just milk, and were impressed by the use of their Dutch heritage to produce a unique cheese from Cornwall.

VISIT THE WEBSITE:  cornishgouda.co.uk