What is cheesegeek eating this Christmas?

What is cheesegeek eating this Christmas?  This year, for my Christmas cheeseboard, I have lined up 7 absolutely banging British cheeses that I think provide the perfect exclamation mark to 2023. ...

What is cheesegeek eating this Christmas? 

This year, for my Christmas cheeseboard, I have lined up 7 absolutely banging British cheeses that I think provide the perfect exclamation mark to 2023. 

But, as importantly as being delicious, they mean something personal to me this year. Cheese is such an emotional product, filled with nostalgia, and this is the spirit with which I try and compile my Christmas board. To bring back memories from the year and relive some of those moments that meant something special.

Seasonal highlights

I am starting with some seasonal favourites. Witheridge, a cheese matured in hay, is such a unique cheese, and absolutely packed full of character and complexity. I love the fact the cheese is aged in a product derived from the same land as the milk is, providing such symmetry in the product. We visited Rosie and the team at the start of the year, and learnt more about the making of Witheridge and their farming philosophy and commitment to organic. It was truly inspirational, and I think Witheridge is one of the most improving cheeses (having started from a pretty high bar to start with!) being made in the UK.

Next up is Tunworth. Sometimes, you just have to stick to the classics, and Tunworth has been one of my favourite cheeses now for over a decade. We recently opened a site on Regent Street at BritYard, running their cheese counter. A huge opportunity for us to finally get face to face with our customers, and the first product I had to get on the menu was Tunworth, Truffle Honey and Sourdough Crackers. It makes people giggle, and that is what cheese should be all about. Whilst new cheeses are always so exciting, great cheeses like Tunworth that have maintained such a high level for well over a decade are to be celebrated.

On the other end of the spectrum is David Jowett, who has been taking the cheese world by storm over the past few years, launching new cheese after new cheese that are winning awards almost immediately. His hero cheese remains Rollright, wrapped in spruce and so festive. Bake it, scoop it or spread it, it is a fantastic British alternative to Vacherin, and always a favourite in our household. It is also a favourite of Martha Collison (of Great British Bake Off fame, and celebrity baker, chef and blogger). Look out for her perfect cheeseboard which we will be launching soon, also featuring Rollright!

2023 highlights 

It has been such an incredible year at cheesegeek, and one of the highlights has been launching our own range of cheeses. Eastwood, our Brie-style cheese, is such a cracker. Slightly lighter than a classic Brie de Meaux, it is creamy first, almost a little fruity and has the most mesmeric wild garlic leaf flavour from the rind. I cannot say how proud we were when Adam Handling, celebrity chef and proprietor of the Michelin 1* restaurant Frog, by Adam Handling, chose to add Eastwood to his menu, served with cherry bakewell and honey. A ringing endorsement of the cheese itself, and a real pinch me moment. So Eastwood just has to be on my cheeseboard this Christmas.

This year was the inaugural ‘Cheddar Challenge’, in which various versions of artisan, traditional cheddar were sent out across the UK for the largest horizontal tasting ever carried out (we believe!). The live feed of the tasting took place at Bra during the Slow Food Festival, where the cheddars were blind tasted, and the judges voted for Quickes Mature as the winner. This was backed up by the people’s vote as well!

I have been telling anyone who will listen that Quickes has been improving rapidly over the past few years, with their cheeses getting better and better, particularly their cheddars. Quite an amazing feat for a cheese maker that has been around for centuries!
It was great to see Mary Quicke and her team get the recognition they deserve, and so it has to be Quickes cheddar on my cheeseboard this Christmas. I prefer the Vintage (18mths) for that extra little hit of umami, but the Mature (12mths) is just as wonderful, slightly butterier and nuttier.

I was hosting a cheese and wine event recently for around 60 guests and I explained that one of the reasons I left the world of finance to start a cheese business was to get more people excited about British cheese. We have a lot of ‘tricks’ we use to do this, but one of the most effective is converting doubters to blue cheese. There is nothing like that moment when you first like a cheese you were convinced you hated (see goat’s milk cheese and me later) and it really can draw people in to the wonderful world of cheese.

So, this event came to the last cheese. I could see many people had been scared rotten at the prospect of the blue cheese at the end. I had a show of hands, around 25 people wouldn’t try it. I can be persuasive though, and of those 25, 11 tried the cheese and said it was the best blue cheese they’d ever tried and were converted. And that is why I do what I do. The cheese in question was Binham Blue, and it has to be on my Christmas cheeseboard, as it has been such an ally in reframing people’s perceptions of blue cheese. Creamy, complex, balanced and moreish. Not things we often associate with a great blue cheese…until now!

WCA Top 16

Finally, I have gone for a cheese that is slightly unusual for this time of the year, but deserving of every accolade it has received this year. At the Oscars of cheese, the World Cheese Awards, which I was very privileged to return to as a judge this year, Sinodun Hill was selected in the coveted ‘Top 16’ out of over 4,500 cheeses that were submitted for judging.
Getting in the Top 16 just once is an incredible feat, but this makes it the second year in a row that Sinodun Hill has achieved that feat. A quite extraordinary achievement for Rachel and Fraser, and their small-scale cheesemaking operation in Oxfordshire.

I visited Rachel and Fraser recently, and I was struck by how easy they make cheesemaking look. It is far from easy! Sinodun Hill is a farmhouse cheese, meaning they also look after the animals themselves, and it is also a very special cheese to me. I never liked goat’s milk cheese (shock horror!) until I came across a cheese called Stawley many years ago that changed everything. A few years later, Stawley ceased to be made sadly, but I came across Sinodun Hill soon after and it had the same impact on me. Divine!! I got researching and realised the Stawley goats had moved to Rachel and Fraser…so it was the same milk as Stawley! Proof, if you needed it, how important great milk is in making a great cheese.

So that is my Christmas cheeseboard for 2023. In recommended order of eating:

World-class cheeses that have meant something to me this year and will take me down memory lane when I enjoy them over Christmas.

Back to blog

October's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

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cheesegeek Bibury
Bibury
Semi hard

A sheep's milk cheese made with milk from the flock at Sheaf House Farm just up the road in Gloucestershire. Made only seasonally from late March, Bibury comes to life in Autumn. Classic notes of meadow flowers and hay along with white chocolate and a fondant texture that is very appealing.

 

cheesegeek Swift Reserve
Swift Reserve

3 total reviews

HARD

A scintillating 9-month aged gouda style cheese. 

If there was ever a Goldilocks gouda, then this is it. Just young enough to be supple, buttery, nutty sweet and unbelievably moreish, yet old enough to have developed a slightly weathered earthiness and rich complexity. We reckon this tastes like liberally buttered jacket potato skins. Oh, and finish is a joy to behold, long, sweet and delightful.

To top it off Swift Reserve pairs perfectly with coffee (yes, coffee). Transport yourself to the Med and enjoy a wedge of cheese with your morning caffeine. Keeping you fuller for longer and tasting shockingly good, it'll soon become part of your breakfast routine. Exclusive to cheesegeek.

Look out for the Swift Black coming soon to one of London's most exciting coffee specialists!

cheesegeek Quicke's Mature Cheddar
Quicke's Mature Cheddar
HARD

Mature, and not in a dull, doesn't like to leave the house way. Quicke's Mature is just fully developed. Quicke's the makers date back to 1540s so they know how to make goooood cheese. Handcrafted using grass-fed cow milk, this well rounded cheddar is typically matured for 12-18 months (hence the name) and brings you a variety of flavours from brothy to buttery to freshly mown grass and baked potato flavours. Always with the characteristic cheddar tang.

cheesegeek Washington
Washington

2 total reviews

SOFT

British cider-washed soft cheese

An unforgettable soft cheese, washed in cider. 

A testament to British cheesemaking, and a nod to continental cheesemaking. Washington is a washed rind cheese destined for great things. When slightly younger, the flavours are fresher and crisper, with just a hint of fruitiness. Ripened on, it develops deep, savoury, meaty flavour, a bit like those famous continental pongers like Epoisses. However, the cider wash brings an astonishing fermented fruity funk, balancing the savoury flavours perfectly, all playing out amidst the most tantalising creamy, decadent, luxurious texture. A modern take on history, and a cheese for the ages.

cheesegeek Perl Las
Cornish Blue
BLUE

Designed to be eaten as a young cheese, Cornish Blue is a very different product from traditional English blue cheeses. Its flavour is mild and creamy, with a dense texture and buttery richness, instead of the ‘salty tang’ common of other traditional blue cheeses it has a gentle sweetness.

November's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftsmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

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cheesegeek 200g Rutland Red
Rutland Red
HARD

**Just voted 8th best cheese in World** One of the few remaining Red Leicester cheeses made in Leicestershire, Rutland Red is made in a special dedicated cheese room at Long Clawson Stilton makers. This beaut is so buttery and nutty sweet with a finish reminiscent of a creme brulee and a striking deep red colour that is unmistakable on a cheeseboard making it a firm favourite at cheesegeek. We're not the only ones to think so as Rutland Red just won 8th best cheese in the world (over 5,200 entries!) at the most prestigious 2025 World Cheese Awards. Red Leicester is a classic on any cheeseboard and is also one of our top picks to cook with, Cauliflower Cheese we're looking at you!!

cheesegeek Cornish Kern
Cornish Kern

6 total reviews

HARD

From Lynher Dairies, the makers of Cornish Yarg and Garlic Yarg, we welcome Cornish Kern—a stonker of a cheese. This beaut is off the chart with flavour. Encased in black wax, it is made in the style of a Gouda, however, the utilisation of Alpine starter cultures gives the cheese multiple dimensions. It has a real fruity twang, something like from an old sweet shop, except cheesy. Think exotic dried fruits, salted caramel, toasted hazelnuts and almonds, and although savoury, it simply tempts and teases you with a little bit of nutty buttery sweetness. All the flavours just linger beautifully in your mouth for the perfect amount of time. Its crumbly, crisp and slate-like texture simply arouses one's senses to another planet. An absolute worldy cheese....literally.

cheesegeek Burford
Burford
Semi hard

King Stone Dairy's longest aged, largest cheese. Originally conceived as a way to capture the sweet complexity of Summer pastures, Burford is now made year round and reflects the seasonality of the milk at Manor Farm. Flavours of charcuterie, hazelnut and hints of tropical fruit.

 

The Cheese Geek 250g Tunworth
Dozmary
SOFT

A bold soft cheese inspired by the wild beauty and legend of Bodmin Moor. Named after the mystical Dozmary Pool said to be the resting place of King Arthur’s Excalibur, it carries the same sense of drama and heritage.

It has been developed as a richer, more flavourful evolution of the Cornish Camembert, Dozmary is oozy, buttery, and bursting with character.

The Cheese Geek Cashel Blue
Crozier Blue
BLUE

Crozier Blue is an Irish sheep's milk cheese modelled loosely on a Roquefort, that has a rich, full and well-rounded flavour. It is gently salty with a distinctly rich creamy texture, offset by a touch of spice.

December's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftsmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

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The Cheese Geek Old Roan Wensleydale
Yoredale

4 total reviews

Made at Curlew Dairy by husband and wife Ben & Sam, Yoredale (formerly Old Roan) represents one of the only truly traditional, raw milk Wensleydale cheeses still made in the UK. As well as being a stonker of a Wensleydale, we were rather captured by the Yoredale's journey. The milk travels a whole 5 metres (or 500cm) from milking parlour to processing room. Then, having been matured for 3-4 months it makes its way to you...via us! Unlike block Wensleydale, the manual, handmade, small batch nature of this traditional clothbound Wensleydale results in so much more complexity. It has the tell tale bite in the centre, but carries an incredible stoney, mineral earthiness closer to the rind, where you also start getting the most wonderful breakdown in the cheese. There are more hidden themes here than The Matrix, and it is a great nod to traditional cheesemaking

cheesegeek Lincolnshire Red
Lincolnshire Red
This beaut gives you everything a great Cheddar should, but on top of that, another layer of deep burnt butter, nutty happiness. It has an intense moist yet creamy texture, with a delicate and elegant buttery flavour that matches with a lingering clean flavour. Theres no denying that this Lincolnshire Red is a promising winner on any cheese board.
The Cheese Geek Keen's Cheddar
Keen's Cheddar

4 total reviews

Along with Westcombe, Pitchfork, and Montgomery’s, Keen's is one of the last traditional raw milk artisan Somerset Cheddars. This is due to the fact the criteria are so much stricter than those for West Country Farmhouse Cheddars. The production process uses raw untreated milk from their grass-fed herd, with pint starters rather than powder, traditional animal rennet, and a clothbound maturation of at least 12 months.

The result is a strong, tangy cheddar with a mellow depth of flavour, occasionally blueing throughout. A standout traditional cheddar that is keeping its place firmly in the classic cheese world.

cheesegeek Rollright
Rollright

26 total reviews

If Cheese = Xmas and Xmas = Vacherin then you could be forgiven for assuming Xmas would be cancelled this year due to LSD (not that one) and its impact on supply of Vacherin this year.

But fortunately, thanks to a lesser known but equally mighty British cheese called Rollright, Xmas might just be saved after all.Made in Gloucestershire, it is wrapped in spruce imported from the continent, just the same as is used on traditional Vacherin, and it is made with milk from a single herd of rare breed cows that actually feed on grass even through the winter.

It is great baked, equally great spooned, but crucially it will give you everything you've come to know and love about a Vacherin, and arguably more.

Rollright. Saving Christmas 2025

cheesegeek Long Clawson Stilton
Long Clawson Stilton

5 total reviews

The heavyweight of all cheeses, Santa's favourite cheese, and Christmas on a plate... it's Stilton.

After months of blind-taste tests, we settled on Long Clawson as our Stilton of choice. But don't just take our word for it, Long Clawson won Super Gold at the 2021 World Cheese Awards, effectively crowning it the World's Best Stilton.
With it's beautiful blue veins (yes we're calling them beautiful) and bold flavour, we're so glad there's Stil-tons of this cheese in our fridge.

January's seasonal cheese selection

Each month we curate 5 of the finest cheeses the UK has to offer. They highlight quality craftsmanship, complex flavour profiles and form the backbone of our gifts and subscriptions.

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The Cheese Geek St Helena
St Helena

4 total reviews

Blake Bowden (cheesemaker extraordinaire) at St Jude has developed the divine St Helena, using raw Montbeliarde milk from the herd at Fen Farm. St Helena has an inviting, supple texture so reminiscent of a classic St Nectaire/Tomme. It is unmistakably rich, with milky and nutty sweet vibes that just keep you coming back for more. But, the washed rind, and the raw milk bring another dimension beyond that. It has those farmy, tangy notes that catch your attention, earning respect as well as delectation. Take a Bow-den, Blake (yikes).

The Cheese Geek Devonshire Red
Devonshire Red

3 total reviews

This mild Devonshire Delight is bursting with flavours. There's hints of lemony, zesty freshness as well as nutty and savoury notes. This clothbound process gives Devonshire Red a rich crumbly texture, resulting in a divine hard cheese.
The Cheese Geek Etivaz
Jura Mountain Cheese

A classic hard cheese with aromatic spiciness and a strong flavour - a true mountain cheese which is also well suited to a creamy fondue.

cheesegeek Maida Vale
Maida Vale

9 total reviews

Village Maid are cheesemakers that just know what they are doing... they make the wonderful Wigmore, Waterloo and Spenwood. Winner of best cows milk cheese at the recent Artisan Cheese Awards, Maida Vale is made in a similar style to Waterloo, except it is washed during maturation in IPA. So whilst the cheese is inherently buttery, creamy and rich on account of using Guernsey cows (notoriously creamy milk), the IPA brings into the mix a nice little tangy punchy kick that just keeps you thinking. As with all cheeses like this, the majority of that kick will come from the rind, so you can compare the taste of the centre cheese vs the rind...quite a difference!

cheesegeek Cashel Blue
Cashel Blue

5 total reviews

BLUE

This is the perfect blue cheese for those who want complexity but not the sharp saltiness, minerality or general strength of a Stilton or bolder blue cheese. Cashel Blue is more soft-honey than nutty, and has little salty sharpness with almost no minerality to speak of compared to a Barkham Blue for example. The finish is super clean with just a hint of saltiness at the end. What it all adds up to, is a scenario where some of the more subtle flavours aren't scared to come out and say hi... honey, some hazelnut and straight up creamy goodness.