The best Cheshire cheeses and the best local shops where you can buy them
Fantastic Cheshire cheeses
Joseph Heler, Nantwich
An authority and force in cheesemaking in Cheshire and beyond, what started as a grandmother making a whole Cheshire cheese every day on the Heler family’s Laurel Farm, then becoming a cottage industry established by Joseph Heler, is now run by Joseph’s grandson and son, Mike and George. It is a business producing their time-honoured recipes using milk from more than 100 local farms for their original Jospeh Heler brand as well as Cheshire Cheese Company, a range of waxed cheese truckles. They their Taste of Cheshire Cheese, Chutney and Biscuits Hamper, £49.95.
H S Bourne, Malpas
The Bourne family have been hand making Cheshire cheese since 1750 – and since 1930 in Malpas. Using milk from their own herd of Friesian cows, their selection of Cheshire cheeses are so good they have earned awards from some of the best, including the International Cheese Awards. Add the award winning unpasteurised clothbound Cheshire Cheese, priced from £4.50. This crumbly, flavoursome traditional cheese that will be the perfect addition to any cheeseboard. Buy online or at their Littlest Farm Shop on the farm.
hsbourne.co.uk
Burt’s Cheese, Holmes Chapel
Claire Burt’s career in dairy inspired her to follow her love of cheesemaking and has taken it from a kitchen table business into an award-winning business producing top level cheese. Along with maker and former chef Tom Partridge they produce fabulous fromage including their flagship cheese, Burt’s Blue, a soft mould ripened blue cheese – the perfect addition to any cheeseboard. You can buy just over a kilo of it – you won’t regret it – for £34, burtscheese.co.uk
J. S Bailey, Calveley
Although this company may now be big business, they are still and independently owned family set up producing a huge range of cheeses, including their premium Calveley Mill range, which can also be bought from their on-site café at their Calveley base. You can try before you buy, with cheese tastes, but we’d recommend the punchy Scorpion, one that’s perfect for spice lovers.
jsbaileycheese.co.uk
Larkton Hall Cheese, Hampton Heath, near Malpas
This small Italian style cheese producer hand make their much-loved products on their farm in the Bickerton Hills. Using unpasteurised milk from their Holstein Friesian herd, they use copper vats to produce the cheese, much like the way parmesan are made in Italy. Their Crabtree alpine cheese, which comes in flavours including oregano, chilli, cumin and sage, Federia, a cheese left to mature for five to six months and The Cheese with No Name, made with 10 per cent goat’s milk, are musts for the festive table.
larktonhallcheese.co.uk
The best Cheshire cheese shops
The Cheese Shop, Chester
A city centre institution this is a must-shop place for your Christmas cheeseboard. Keeping cheese lovers’ appetites satiated since 1985, choose from more than 200 different cow, goat and ewe cheeses. Try the Keeping It Local cheeseboard, £22, that pays homage to the best fromage from the county.
chestercheeseshop.co.uk
Godfrey C Williams, Sandbach
This independent grocer has been keeping people fed since 1875 with everything from the finest coffees and teas, fine food, bespoke hampers and more. Where they particularly excel is in their knowledge of British and artisan cheeses – there are hundreds to choose from – from Cornish Yarg to H S Bournes Mature Cheshire Cheese.
godfreycwilliams.co.uk
The Cheese Shop, Nantwich
There isn’t much Nick Birchall, a sixth-generation farmers son and one of the founding partners of this Nantwich shop doesn’t know about cheese. Cheese - there are more than 150 - is celebrated in all its forms but especially those produced locally. Book onto their Christmas Cheese and Wine Choices evening on November 30, £39.50, with wine afficionados Rodney Densem Wines and Cepage.
cheeseshopnantwich.co.uk
New Market Dairy, Altrincham Market
Champions of some of the best handmade cheese you can get in the UK, New Market Dairy work directly with farmers, cheesemakers and specialist food producers that all share the same ethos of small-scale production. Visit the stall in Altrincham Market or order online. A great gift is their medium Christmas Cheese Box Selection, £100, with Appleby’s Cheshire, Baron Bigod Brie and more.
newmarketdairy.com
Chorlton Cheesemongers
Winners of Best Small Retailer North West in the 2023 Farm Shop and Deli Awards, this popular cheese shop, opened in April 2020 and run by Neal’s Hard Dairy trained Chris Hallam, specialises in the best traditionally cloth-bound and handmade farmhouse and artisan cheeses, produced from non-intensive farming, single source and waw milk. A champion of small farms and dairies, try their Artisan Hamper, £33, which comes with four cheese and a chutney.
chorltoncheesemongers.co.uk
