You’ve got to admire Sue Proudfoot, the lady behind Whalesborough Farm and its beautiful Cornish cheeses. She embarked on her cheese-making career in April 1999, pretty much out of desperation. With no qualifications and no work nearby, she decided her only opportunity to bring some additional income to her family was to use the abundant local milk to start a new business. Learning cheese-making from a family friend, she set up her fledgling creamery in a converted corner of a grain store.
Whalesborough Farm has now been producing handmade, farmhouse cheese from unique recipes for over 12 years. Peyton & Byrne have been happy and greedy customers ever since. Each cheese has evolved in the small dairy in North Cornwall, usually in response to seasonal variations in the local Cornish milk and enthusiastic feedback from customers, who, Sue admits, play a part in developing the Whalesborough Cheese range.
Her four cheeses are closely related. The farmhouse cheddar-style Trelawney was the original – and still a firm favorite at Peyton & Byrne. The sweet and supple Miss Muffet followed before Sue brought us the wonderful Keltic Gold, a washed rind version of Miss Muffet bathed in local Countryman’s Cider to create a true connoisseur's cheese. The latest addition is Cornish Crumbly: a chalky textured cheese reminiscent of a creamy Lancashire with gorgeous, lively taste. If you like cheese, you HAVE to try them.
