FOOD + DRINK in THE DAIRY WITH
JANE BOWYER
OWNER, CHEESEMAKERS OF CANTERBURY, CANTERBURY
What’ s the philosophy behind Cheesemakers of Canterbury and the cheeses you make? We are an artisan Cheesemakers based in Dargate, making handmade cheeses for almost 20 years with a heritage dating back almost 50 years with the Ashmore recipe. Having started with the one cheese- Ashmore Farmhouse- we now make a variety of over 18 types of raw and pasteurised cheeses using cow’ s, goat’ s and ewe’ s milk.
What is your signature cheese? What’ s the cheese you sell most of? And what’ s your personal favourite? Our signature cheese is Ashmore Farmhouse, a cheddar style cheese that’ s strong and tangy with an age profile ranging from six months for the Farmhouse itself, 12 for the Ancient Ashmore and as far as 18 months for our Ashmore Top Shelf, which is available at Christmas.
We have been making Ashmore for 19 years and previous to that it was made in the village of Ashmore on the Wiltshire / Dorset border by Pat and David Doble, who taught us everything we needed to know about taking on the legacy of Ashmore.
Tell us about the recipe we’ re showcasing. The recipe I would like to showcase is perfect for coming into the colder winter season as it’ s a cauliflower cheese, with a sauce made out of Kentish Cowslip Butter and our Oak Smoked Ashmore cheese.
Beyond great milk, what ingredient could you not live without? I mean, great quality milk is very important to me, as the milk we use comes from a farm that has won an award for the best British Friesian herd in the UK. Our milk is not just a commodity to me, it’ s life, but if I was to have to pick another ingredient
I would say I’ m a real big lover of Kentish seasonality and especially a wild garlic lover as we forage it ourselves throughout the season for our Wild Garlic Cowslip Butter; it’ s just delightful
What’ s your favourite Kentish ingredient, product or producer? As we planted an orchard ourselves for our chutneys, I’ m very much getting into the fruit that can be grown locally in Kent- quinces, medlars, apples, plums, pears and- my favourite by far- Kentish cherries.
Which present-day cheesemaker would you most love to spend a day in the dairy with? I know you’ ve asked for present day, but in my heart of hearts after making cheese for so long I would have loved to have been able to spend a day now with the original cheesemaker of Ashmore, David Doble. He taught us everything we know and I would love to have made cheese with him now after almost 20 years of experience.
Where’ s your go-to place to eat in Kent? Just around the corner from us is a fantastic pub called The Dove at Dargate where they do the most delicious food and mojitos. They’ ve just won a Silver award at the Produced in Kent Taste of Kent Awards for Kent Dining Experience of the Year and they truly are a lovely couple who run a great pub.
What’ s your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure? That’ s a tough one... I do very much enjoy a great glass of Kentish wine; being a Kentish producer myself I think it’ s important- and very enjoyable- to support local wherever possible.
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