In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - One of Britain’s most celebrated food scholars and broadcaster, Ivan Day takes us on a rich and fascinating journey through Britain’s cheese history, sharing stories and insights from the past right through to the present. Ivan has the gift of sharing his considerable knowledge in a vivid and engaging way and this episode is an engaging piece of culinary time travel.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - There is something very comforting about cheese as an ingredient in a kitchen. For this episode, I talk to three wonderful chefs and food writers: development chef Verena Lochmuller co-author of Comfort, the new Ottolenghi cookbook, food writer Mark Diacono, author of Vegetables, who has a keen following for his Garden to Table Substack, and Italian American food writer Domenica Marchetti, author of the Everyday Italian cookbook.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - This episode looks at how to enjoy cheese over the festive period. Cheese restaurateur Mathew Carver, founder of restaurants including Pick and Cheese and the Cheese Bar, tells us why it’s fun and interesting to create cheese pairings and gives us some hints. Will Chapman of Neal’s Yard Dairy guides us through how to put together a great British cheeseboard and chef Rosie Sykes, author of the Every Last Bite cookbook, shares some appetising ideas for cheese-centric party nibbles.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Charles Martell is a legend in the cheese world, famed for reviving Gloucestershire’s traditional Single Gloucester and Double Gloucester cheeses during the 1970s and noted also for his Stinking Bishop cheese. Charles tells us what inspired him to take up cheesemaking. Cheesemonger Andy Swinscoe of the award-winning Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire gives a compelling insight into why it’s so important to buy farmhouse cheese and support small-scale cheesemakers.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - It’s all very well creating a new cheese, but what do you call it?! Cheese expert Patrick McGuigan, author of Cheese Life and The Philosophy of Cheese, and I discuss cheese names, both old and new, and ponder what makes a good cheese name. Dorset-based cheesemaker Peter Morgan reveals his brainwave regarding names when he founded the Book and Bucket Cheese Company in 2019.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Caroline Bell, Director of Shepherd’s Purse, tells us the story of this Yorkshire cheese business founded in the 1988 by her pioneering mother Judy Bell. Philip Contini, of Valvona & Crolla, the much-loved Edinburgh Italian food business now in its 90th year, takes us on an illuminating and appetising journey round Italy’s cheese scene.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - This episode takes a look at the business of selling cheese at markets, a historic form of cheese retail which carries on to this day. Cheesemonger and affineur Nic Pivard of Curds and Whey, Jules Kane, co-founder of Cheesewick, the monthly Chiswick cheese market and Anita Robinson, Director of Somerset Cheese Company tell us their market stories.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - With the 2024 World Cheese Awards taking place in Portugal, we look at the Portuguese cheese scene. Portuguese cheesemonger Diana Guedes, of Queijaria da Praca, who champions artisan Portuguese cheese, shares her insights into the country’s cheeses and its makers. Portuguese food writer and Culinary Backstreets guide Celia Pedroso, author of Eat Portugal, tells us about the role of cheese in Portuguese cuisine.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - In this episode we look at how to sell cheese well. Cheesemonger Oli Smith of Bristol Cheese talks us through his vision of what makes a good cheesemonger. Young Cheesemonger of the Year 2023, Lily Morris of Morris of Usk, gives us an insight into the enthusiasm and cheese knowledge that won her this award https://academyofcheese.org/young-cheesemonger-of-the-year/. Cheese enthusiast Keith Kendrick, Good Food’s Group Managing Editor, who judges Young Cheesemonger of the Year at the World Cheese Awards tells us what he and fellow judges look for.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Historically, India’s best-known cheese is paneer, a cheese we devoted a whole episode to in the early days of this podcast. But the Indian cheese scene is changing and developing. I talk to the dynamic Mausam Narang, founder of Eleftheria Cheese in Mumbai, who in 2023 saw one of her creamery cheeses receive the accolade of being in the top 16 cheeses at the World Cheese Awards. I also speak to food writer Roopa Gulati, who gives me a mouthwatering insight into how cheese is used in the Indian kitchen.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Rules and regulations are central to the cheese world. Julie Cheyney of St Jude’s Cheese gives me an insight into the rules she has to follow as a cheesemaker working with raw milk. Cheese expert Ned Palmer, author of A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France, gives me an insight into the way France has protected and regulated the production of its historic foods and drinks, including cheese.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Cheese is famously a smelly food! Certain cheeses such as Stinking Bishop or Epoisses are notorious for their powerful aromas. Some people love the smell of cheese, others loathe it. I discuss this striking aspect of cheese with Professor Barry Smith, director of University of London’s Centre for the Study of the Senses, and Josh Windsor, Associate Director, Caves at Murray’s Cheese.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Cheese is a wonderful food for hot summer days. To start with it doesn’t need cooking! Using cheese is a great way to add savoury flavour and textures to salads. There are also delightful cheese dishes to be made which are perfect for summer eating. Acclaimed food writer and broadcaster Thane Prince shares her insights into summer cheese cooking. Greek writer Carolina Doriti, whose cookbook Salt of the Earth is a beautiful journey around Greece through its cuisine, tells us about cheese in the Greek kitchen. You will definitely be craving a Greek salad once you’ve listened to her!

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - New Zealand’s cheese scene has grown in the last few decades. The renowned New Zealand food and wine writer and editor Lauraine Jacobs shares her insights into how it has blossomed. Simon Berry, MD of Whitestone Cheese on New Zealand’s South Island tells the story of why and how his farming family started making cheese during the 1980s and their progress since then.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - The idea of tradition is often evoked in the world of cheese. For this episode, we talk to Rachael Sills, founder of specialist Swiss cheese exporter KaseSwiss, about Swiss Alpine cheesemaking, recently recognised by UNESCO ,and cheese expert, Ned Palmer, author of A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles about the idea of tradition with regard to cheese.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Goat’s milk has long been an important milk for cheesemakers, with goats able to thrive in landscapes unsuited to cows. Cheesemonger Max Melvin, of La Fromagerie in London, talks about French goat’s cheeses and cheesemaker Selina Cairns of Errington Cheese in Scotland talks about working with goat’s milk.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Wensleydale is one of Britain’s famous territorial cheeses – made and eaten in Yorkshire for centuries. However, it’s had a troubled history and come close to extinction a number of times. Excitingly, though, recent years have seen a new farmhouse Wensleydales being made in the Yorkshire Dales. To learn about the story of Wensleydale, we talk to Andy Swinscoe of The Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire, David Lockwood, Managing Director of Neal’s Yard Dairy and Ben Spence of the Curlew Dairy, who together with his wife Sam, is making a farmhouse Wensleydale called Yoredale in the town of Wensley.

This week A Slice of Cheese goes on a journey and explores the world of Latin American cheese. Cheese expert Carlos Yescas tells us about the history of cheesemaking in this region, Mexican cheese expert Jessica Fernandez of Mexican Mongers in Mexico City discusses Mexico’s cheeses and how they are used in Mexican cuisine and wholesale cheesemonger John Braga shares his insights into Brazil’s cheese scene.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - While we often talk about tradition in the world of cheese, it’s also a place of innovation and creativity. For this episode, Jenny talks to James Rutter, Managing Director of Paxton and Whitfield about innovation in Britain’s cheese scene, dairy farmer David Finlay of Ethical Dairy about his cow with calf approach and Amy Brice of Freshly Ground PR and Cheesemonger James Grant of No. 2 Pound Street about their new collaborative initiative; The Real Cheese Project.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Cheese has been an important foodstuff in the Mediterranean world for many centuries. For an insight into the region’s cheeses and how they are eaten and enjoyed, we talk to Panos Manuelides, founder and managing director of Odysea, which imports and distributes foods from the Mediterranean, and Turkish food writer Ozlem Warren, whose latest cookbook Sebze celebrates Turkish vegetarian cuisine.

Cheese is a very useful and versatile ingredient in cooking. For this episode, I look at how we bake with cheese and talk to three wonderful cooks and food writers: Dan Lepard, author of many bestselling baking books including the seminal Short and Sweet, Italian food blogger Stefano Arturi and Catherine Phipps, whose latest cookbook is Modern Pressure Cooking.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - What’s it like setting up as a cheesemaker or cheesemonger? I speak to two people who’ve recently started making cheese: Emily Tydeman of Broughton Hall Dairy and Martin Tkalez of Pevensey Cheese. Perry Wakeman tells me how Rennet and Rind opened their first bricks and mortar in shop in Lincolnshire last autumn. I also talk to a behind-the-scenes stalwart of Britain’s artisan cheese world, refrigeration engineer Alan Hayes, who has helped many cheesemakers and mongers get up and running.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - This week on A Slice of Cheese, I explore the idea of regenerative farming and the cheese scene. Neal’s Yard Dairy’s Bronwen Percival, co-author of Re-inventing the Wheel, shares her insights. I also talk to Lee Truelove , Head of Regenerative Farming at First Milk, a dairy co-operative, and Leona Macdonald, Business Unit Director at Golden Hooves, First Milk’s cheese company.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - In the world of cheese, we often talk about pairing cheese and wine in the world of cheese. I noticed another type of pair – people in the cheese world who work and live together. I talk to Andy and Kathy Swinscoe of the acclaimed cheesemongers The Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire and also to Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore of Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk, famous for their Baron Bigod cheese.

In partnership with Peter’s Yard petersyard.com - Blue cheeses are so distinctive and characterful. They have a Marmite aspect, with people either loving or hating them. I’m firmly a blue cheese lover so thoroughly enjoyed making this episode. Spanish cheese expert Rupert Linton of Brindisa, the Spanish food company, takes me on a journey through the rich world of Spain’s blue cheeses, including Cabrales, British cheesemaker Mary Davenport tells the story of Cote Hill Blue and cheese writer Patrick McGuigan, co-author with Matthew Carver of Cheese Life, tells me about France’s iconic Roquefort cheese.