Hard times have turned into heydays for traditional Lancashire cheesemakers, Mrs Kirkham’s
Mrs Kirkham’s Cheese and Lancashire are the perfect pairing. For more than 40 years Ruth Kirkham, and now her son Graham, have been producing award winning cheeses at their Goosnargh farm, making them the last makers of raw cow’s milk Lancashire cheese. They supply the likes of Harrods, Neal’s Yard Dairy and Booths. But in March 2020, like many, the business was in trouble.
‘When the first lockdown happened, they were dark days,’ says Graham. ‘Everything stopped. We’d gone from sending kilos of cheese out through wholesalers to go to restaurants, pubs, delis and events - to nothing.
‘I spent two weeks wandering around the farm looking at cheese that wasn't going anywhere. We couldn’t furlough because life on a farm doesn’t stop, we still had to milk seven days a week regardless of whether we were making any money.’
But then a campaign to support artisan cheesemakers like Mrs Kirkham’s galvanised a huge groundswell of support and they launched a farm shop so people could buy direct from the farm gate.
‘That farm shop has been our little hero,’ beams Graham, who runs the business with wife Kellie. ‘And it soon turned into something bigger, with other producers asking if I could sell their products too. It went from a cheese counter to a fully-fledged farm shop before we knew it. It was brilliant.
‘When I arrived one morning, people were queueing down the farm track, it was incredible. And the support from our customers has been the thing that has got us through.
We are so grateful.’
Now, Graham and his dairy team are making cheese seven days a week to replenish stocks and keep up with demand. A huge influx of tourists to Lancashire over the summer meant more people than ever wanted their cheeses and local customers have remained loyal, continuing to buy from their farm shop. Events have started to return, meaning the wholesale side of the business is kicking back into life.
It is this kind of Lancastrian determination that has meant they are now planning for a bumper Christmas.
‘Ordinarily, in the summer, things would calm down a little and it would help us build stock before Christmas but that just hasn’t happened. Tourists have been coming here and discovering our beautiful county. We probably take it for granted becuase it is always there. It’s been wonderful seeing this gorgeous corner of Lancashire through their eyes. It makes you look up and appreciate what you have.'
The only way is up now for this Lancashire cheesemaker. And we can’t wait to see what they do next.
