Perry's Cheese Blog

February in the Rennet & Rind Maturing Room

Perry Wakeman

A few challenges in the maturing room to contend with this month. The cold snap has slightly pulled down the base temperature of the rooms.

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Should You Add Smoked Cheese to Your Board?

Perry Wakeman

In this mystery cheese box video, I showcased one of our new preserves, Smoked Bramley Apple Butter. I wanted to talk a little bit more about it. Usually, all things that have been smoked (specifically cheese) tend to be a polarising presence within the cheeseboard building sector. Smoked cheeses tend to be the real power figures on the board, bossing around all different flavours and sometimes killing off some of the subtle, nuanced flavours within artisan cheese. However, when people love smoked cheese, they really do love it! Here's the difficult decision, to add a smoked cheese or not to...

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How a Cheese Iron is the Prized Tool of a Cheesemonger

Perry Wakeman

How a Cheese Iron is the Prized Tool of a Cheesemonger

Let's talk about the weapon that us cheesemongers wield to make your cheese experience better. The one item we all have as affineurs which helps to confirm that our maturing moves have paid off. I am talking about the humble cheese iron, or borer or cheese trier, as it’s sometimes referred. 

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Alpen Cheddar: When Devonshire and German Cheesemakers Collide

Perry Wakeman cheese new

What do you get when you put Devonshire and German cheesemakers together? Sounds like the beginnings of a terrible joke, right? Actually, the answer is AlpenCheddar. Currently the most sought after cheese in the UK. Stocks are running low and there won’t be more for quite some time. 

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An Ode to Innes

Perry Wakeman

So it has happened. We say goodbye to one of our favourite cheesemakers, Innes. I can't help but feel emotional about this. It's not only our British cheese heritage that's gone, but it's also a little of mine. I've been trying their cheeses every couple of weeks for the last, well, for so long I can't remember. Innes's cheese taught me invaluable things as a cheesemonger. It's hard to explain how, but I shall try, and I am sure many fellow cheesemongers will be able to relate too. As mongers, when we taste cheese, we want to know everything about...

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