Sharpham Dairy’s happy accident cheese is crowned champion

Sharpham Dairy’s happy accident cheese is crowned champion cheese at the annual Taste of the West Awards.

A velvety cheese created by accident has been crowned the South West’s best cheese. Sharpham Cheese’s Rushmore, made near Totnes was named Taste of the West’s Champion Cheese in their awards ceremony at Sandy Park on 6 November.

Sharpham Rushmore is a combination of 40% goat’s milk and 60% cow’s milk is reminiscent of two of its most popular cheeses – crumbly and delicate Ticklemore goat’s cheese and the semi-hard Rustic cow’s cheese, creating a slightly crumbly but velvety texture. It is available for £5.50 for 230g from www.sharphamcheese.co.uk.

Sharpham Rushmore was serendipitously created when goat’s milk was mistakenly poured into the same tank as cow’s milk. Determined to avoid waste, it was necessary to make cheese with the milks that had been mixed. The team of cheesemakers continued to produce cheese with the mixed milk to see how it would taste, the invention – Sharpham Rushmore. Delighted with their accidental invention, Sharpham gauged the public’s opinion at regional shows, before bringing the cheese to market in November 2022.

The champion news continues a terrific year for Sharpham Rushmore as it won Gold in Global Cheese Awards, Gold at the Great British Food Awards and Gold in Food Drink Devon Awards.

Taste profile – With refreshing acidity, Rushmore is rich and creamy in flavour with subtle floral sweetness and a lingering finish.

Serving suggestion – A delicious conversation starter enjoyed on its own, or delicious as part of a cheeseboard, in a salad or crumbled over a ratatouille. Sensational paired with light-bodied, aromatic white and rose wines, such as sauvignon blanc or a well-chilled sparkling wine from Devon.

Greg Parsons from Sharpham Dairy, says:

“We’re absolutely thrilled to see Rushmore go for Gold, then go on to win the entire category as Champion Cheese. We all take pride in our work and strive to produce the best cheese, so this recognition goes such a long way.”

Co-owener, Nicky Parsons commented:

“We’ve all got a soft spot for Rushmore here as, like many of our cheeses, it’s a bit different and very special. It’s had an amazing year. We have people asking for it especially at the shows and food festivals we’ve been to this year.”

Sharpham Dairy are still celebrating their recent recognition of receiving the heralded 3-stars in the Great Taste Awards 2023 for their Cremet cheese, which puts it in the top 2% of all 14,195 products entered. Handcrafted from goat’s milk and cow’s double cream, judges said it was ‘exquisite’ and ‘extraordinary’ in the blind taste tests.

As the UK’s first cheese dairy to achieve a B Corp certification, Sharpham Dairy believes that cheese should be a force for good. They pride themselves on meeting the highest environmental impact standards, and the new Sharpham Rushmore was borne from their ethos of wasting as little as possible. Sharpham Dairy deliveries arrived packaged in recyclable and compostable packaging.

The full range of goats’, cows’ and sheeps’ milk cheeses, as well as Sharpham Dairy’s brand new crackers and chutneys are available from good cheesemongers and delis, and online. Visit www.sharphamcheese.co.uk.