King Charles has played a key role rescuing our farmhouse dairies from bland foreign imports. No wonder he’s the Biggest Cheese of all!
He’s known for his a stout defence of hedge laying, thatching and other dying crafts, but King Charles has also found time to help rescue a more surprising tradition – the ancient art of cheese making.
The collapse of farmhouse cheese in the years after the war – and its replacement with bland, American-inspired factory-produced cheese – reached its nadir in the early 1970s.
That’s when traditional styles such as Wensleydale were no more than an acidic echo of their original and the public was turning to rubbery alternatives such as Edam from Holland.
It was the sort of thing guaranteed to get Charles hot under the collar. Yet it seems to have been a more recent crisis that sparked the Prince of Wales into action.
King Charles, 74, at the Poacher Cheese Farm during a visit to Lincolnshire
Charles became Patron of The Specialist Cheese Makers Association in 1993. Pictured: The then Prince of Wales ay Hawkstone Abbey Farm, Shropshire
The Prince of Wales used his position to support issues close to his heart, including the plight of cheese makers
The food scares of the early 1990s led to new hygiene rules including a potential ban on raw, or unpasteurised, milk.
This would have been a disasters for small cheesemakers around Britain and spelt the end for the post-70s cheese renaissance.
This was where Charles found himself in a position to lend a hand, becoming Patron of The Specialist Cheese Makers Association in 1993 and lobbying for the preservation of traditional methods.
The in 1999 came another crucial step, when Charles organised a meeting between all parties at his Gloucestershire residence, Highgrove.
Cheesemakers and cheesemongers, along with civil servants from the Ministry of Agriculture and government ministers were invited to discuss the matter over lunch, according to the BBC.
‘Do we think it is important to keep these cheeses and traditions going?’ asked the Prince.
Everyone agreed that it was.
‘So, what are you going to do about it?’…
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