Birditt has been visiting and documenting dairies all over the British Isles, looking at the food, people and landscapes dedicated to artisan and farmhouse cheeses. The farmhouse cheesemakers I have visited work to the highest levels of animal welfare, and many are looking to become more sustainable with what they are putting onto the land and feeding their animals for the best possible milk for cheesemaking. Graham Kirkham of Kirkham’s Lancashire (1 of 30 artisan cheesemakers in the book) said that ‘every piece of cheese is a part of history’, his cheese being made to the same recipe his great grandmother made. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Angus Birditt's beautiful book is a celebration of artisan and farmhouses cheeses of the British Isles. I loved that these cheeses were not only a wonderful, delicious food product but also an instrument to express heritage, tradition and history.Angus is an advocate for the rural environment, celebrating and encouraging its appreciation through his various works. According to the cheesemaker’s preferences, aspects such as humidity, salinity, airflow and temperature are controlled to mature their cheese. I visited several artisan cheesemakers around East Anglia where I grew up and in Wales where I am now living. Through interviews, stories, recipes and photography, the book celebrates how British cheese is profoundly connected to the land, farm animals and people involved in making it. From Suffolk’s Baron Bigod to Brefu Bach sheep's milk cheese from Snowdonia, Birditt’s delicious volume guides the reader though the story of British cheese through essays, photos and irresistible recipes.

Full of personal stories, warmth and admiration, Angus teases out just what makes British cheese so special. What I found fascinating about artisan cheese is how many different varieties you can have from the same initial product, milk (which, of course, is so complex in itself). I have always lived in the countryside, either in rural Cambridgeshire throughout my childhood, surrounded by arable fields and mixed woodlands, or in North Wales after university, where I really started to take foraging seriously and experience new landscapes and wildlife. Angus’s authenticity, his passion for sustainable food and his respect for the people behind the products shine through.

It highlights the wonderful diversity of people, scales and skills which characterise and bind together the emergent community of UK artisan cheese makers. Hi book is a celebration and record of his journey across the British Isles visiting 30 small scale Cheesemakers to discover their unique traditions and histories.

I loved how these cheeses were not only a wonderful, delicious food product but also an instrument to express heritage, tradition and history. The personal stories and warmth expressed by the author make the book feel like a conversation with a friend rather than a dry textbook.

It is one of those rare food products can be spoken about in the same sentence as terroir – loosely defined as ‘evoking the character of the land’ or more broadly, the ecosystem. Besides my love for the natural environment and a real desire to celebrate what was going on in it, hopefully conserving it in someway, Our Isles was kick-started in essence when I started The Bridge Lodge, a small food company which sold a range of foraged products like wild garlic pestos and wild garlic sea salt. The UK farmhouse cheese industry has faced its biggest challenges in recent years, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many small cheesemakers out of business.

This book highlights the wonderful diversity of people, scales and skills which characterise and bind together the emergent community of UK artisan cheese makers. A Portrait of British Cheese" is a must-read for anyone interested in the traditional cheesemaking community in the British Isles. It makes you truly admire the hard work of the cheese makers, appreciate the animals and reflect on where the food we eat comes from. We sat down to chat about the book and Our Isles, the platform he founded to celebrate the rural environment and the British Isles through food, nature, history and heritage.And each aspect (soil/land, pasture/feed, animal, milk quality, maker) is so variable, which makes cheese such a diverse and fascinating product. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.