Cheese The Farmers' Country Showdown

Across the country,

thousands of farming families work tirelessly around the clock.

Stop arguing, girls!

Give over.

WHISTLE BLOWS

But there's one day each year...

..where they get to leave the daily routine behind.

Right, here we come, Dorset.

These are show days...

'A very, very warm welcome to Melplash Show.'

..when they come together as a community...

..to showcase the fruits of their labour...

I just love showing my girls off.

..and try to win prizes for their breed champions...

Smashed it.

..and award-winning produce.

That's really nice cheese, that.

It was very good, darling.

There will be highs...

That's what we want to see - red. Red is the best.

..and lows...

She's not happy enough to go.

..for the dedicated farmers who give everything to walk away a champion.

Fingers crossed!

The global cheese market is worth an astounding £80 billion a year.

Time for milking.

British dairy farmers are determined

to see some of that staggering stockpile.

Today we're meeting the Cheddar-making Clothier family...

..and goat's cheese guru Roger Longman, who are all from Somerset.

Look at that - nice and clean. Lovely. One more?

They're both sending their produce to one of the oldest cheese shows

in the country.

One dimensional and it dies.

This is a major shop window for their wares,

and success here can lead to international acclaim.

This is Somerset, the birthplace of Cheddar.

Its rolling hills and lush pastures have been home

to brothers Richard and Tom Clothier

and their cheesemaking family for generations.

We've been spuddling around together since we were about two or three.

Whether you'd call it work early on was...

another thing, wasn't it?

'You know, working with family is actually good fun

'and we know each other really well.'

Got his younger brother to look after him!

He might not always agree with that!

Come on, girls.

It's not just the brothers that run the family's 1,500-acre farm...

Come on!

..as their cousin, Roger,

takes care of the thousand-strong herd of dairy cows.

I was born on the farm.

We did do all the roles when we were kids but I did like working the land

and tending the cows, and that's where I've stuck now.

One of my favourite things about the farm

is when I wake up in the morning.

I can come out the door and I've got the green fields,

the cattle, the crops and the fresh air.

Sometimes during the winter months, it's very hard,

but the job has to be done and we're used to that.

We're used to hard work so we take it in our stride.

That family philosophy has meant that they're all used to taking care of each other.

I'm not sure who's the responsible one, really!

-It's more like us looking after Dad, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Their father, John, handed the reins of the farm

over to his sons and nephews in 2010

and is now, at the age of 73, semi-retired.

Well, I'm very proud that they wanted to put up with me

and follow what myself and my brother and my mother

and father and grandfather

and the rest of it have done, so really proud of that.

The family have been making cheese and dairy farming for hundreds of years,

so cheesemaking and dairy farming went hand-in-hand.

But the foundations for the family's success

is down to one very special lady.

My grandmother started making cheese to her family recipe and the recipe

was handed down from mother to daughter through the generations,

cos the ladies always made the cheese.

However, their Granny Ivy did something no-one had done before.

My grandmother was the first one to write the recipe down,

in the early 1900s,

and we've put that recipe in a safe

and keep it under lock and key, cos it's very important.

You all right, Merv?

As custodians of Granny Ivy's secret formula...

Good stuff.

..it falls on Tom and Richard to deliver a cheese the family can be proud of.

Yeah, very good.

I'm the third generation of cheesemakers.

It's what we do, and I still remain passionate about it.

From humble beginnings, the farm has now grown into

a business that makes on average 14,000 tonnes of cheese every year.

It's funny cos cheesemaking is quite a simple process in many ways,

but our predecessors used to call it the black art because you're

challenged by nature and the changing of seasons.

And that's what makes a really good cheesemaker -

someone who can follow the recipe despite all of those things

and still make a really good cheese.

I love what I do. I love cheese.

If someone criticises my cheese,

it's like them criticising my children, you know?

Just under five miles away, outside the village of Pylle,

a somewhat smaller, but equally ambitious, cheesemaker

is taking advantage of the lush Somerset countryside.

Only he's not milking cows.

Come on, up you come!

Goat's cheesemaker Roger Longman

took over his family's 300-acre dairy farm when his parents retired.

I grew up on a farm but never wanted to be a farmer.

It looked like hard work to me.

Dad was always out either milking or driving a tractor.

So I trained as an engineer.

Enjoyed it but realised I actually quite liked being in the countryside.

Roger's father kept cows and made Cheddar,

but the farm fell on hard times in the late 1990s

and so Cheddar production stopped.

To try to rebuild what his family had lost,

Roger placed all his hopes for the future

in a different kind of cheese.

In those days, there weren't many people making goat's cheese

and I was very aware that goat's milk was starting to become popular.

I think my father would be very proud if he was still here, so, yeah.

That's the saddest bit - that he isn't here to see it.

Luckily, he hasn't had to do it all alone,

as his farm manager Rob has been with the family business

almost as long as his boss.

-I was there from the start.

-You were born and bred here, weren't you, Rob?

-Yeah, pretty much.

-I've been very lucky with Rob -

his father used to work for my father and now Rob works for me.

I'd rather have the goats than the cows any day.

Any day. Look at me now.

I wouldn't be like this if I was with cows - that's for certain.

Drier. You don't get covered in... muck.

Come on, then, girls, come on.

I know most of them. They've all got their own personality

and there's some miserable buggers as well.

Although you can milk cows with a robot,

you can't milk goats with a robot cos they'll chew it to bits.

Hello, girls. All right?

For Roger, the care he gives to his animals

comes top of his list of duties if he's going to succeed.

This is the start of our next generation of milking goats.

You're my future, girl, aren't you? Yeah, I know, very important.

We want to do everything possible to make life as easy and comfortable

for them as possible, cos if they're happy and comfortable,

they will grow so that when they come into the milking parlour,

they produce lots of milk.

Does it get any cuter than this?

No, it doesn't. I love this -

I love being able to do this with our animals.

I love the attention we can give them, and when you come down,

they recognise you. They'll come up and say hello,

particularly ones that have been sickly

and you've really had to hand-rear them - they never forget you.

The basics of cheesemaking have fundamentally stayed the same

since its discovery thousands of years ago.

Ripening the cheese takes expertise,

and is a full-time job for one man at least.

Here he is, the cheese monster.

This is Clarky, hiding in the background there.

He's busy working away. We have a posh name for him.

He's what we call an affineur.

That's the French word for maturing cheese.

We call him Sponge Monkey. It's what he really is.

He's in here all day with a sponge and a bucket of brine,

-washing cheese.

-Yeah. I like it.

If you leave it the same way up the whole time,

all the liquid falls to the bottom and you get a soggy bottom

and we don't like soggy bottoms. There's a small cheesemaker down the road from us

who's putting in a robot for doing that.

It's really hard to find people who want to pick up and turn cheese

all day. It's not the most exciting job.

Clarky will wash cheese for the rest of his life.

He's stuck in here. There's a little bed in there -

he sleeps in the corner there.

He doesn't get to go home very often.

I never see natural sun!

This is Rachel. This is our best-selling cheese

and she's won quite a few classes outright -

best goat's cheese and things like that.

If we don't win some medals for this, I shall be extremely upset.

The day of the show is fast approaching.

Reputations are at stake for both sets of cheesemakers.

I'll open the van up for you.

Yeah, let's get these loaded up, then.

If the family pride is to be upheld,

then Granny Ivy's spiritual intervention might be needed.

We'll have a quick word with Ivy, for a start!

She'll know before us, because...

she'll be right in there with the judges, so she'll know before us!

But leaving the farm seems more of a challenge for Tom.

Tom never leaves Bruton, let alone gets as far as Wincanton or Frome,

so it's a massive day.

He'll have to fill up his car for the first time this year!

Yeah, Tom will be up at four o'clock,

limbering up, getting ready for it.

-Waxing his cheese.

-He'll be doing his fake tan before he goes!

I would love to win the top prize. That'll be great.

I wouldn't shout it too high from the rooftops but I'd certainly make a noise about it.

We'll stop at the doctor's surgery on the way,

get Tom's injections and get his passport stamped!

He's driving, though.

And off they go.

Deep in the heart of the Somerset countryside,

the world-renowned Frome Cheese Show is beginning to set up.

Started in the 1860s,

it is part of the Frome Agricultural Show,

and the cheese awards have been an integral part of it

for the best part of a century.

Cheesemakers from across the world enter these awards

because winning accolades here can put producers on the map.

Judging will take place in an 1,800-square-foot tent.

-It's not quite as acidic as the last one.

-No.

The 50 judges have only just begun to taste,

sniff and discuss their way

through the thousand-plus cheeses here today.

Quite pleasant.

These judges are selected from the best palates and producing experts in the country.

When we're judging, we start from a technical perspective.

When we grade them, we'll be using sight...

touch...

taste and smell.

-Smell the truffles?

-Oh, yes.

-This is great.

We'll have a good discussion about each cheese, rank them accordingly,

then make our decision as to what is the best one.

Occasionally, some people will listen to a Cheshire

to see if it squeaks properly.

The sheer scale of what's been entered means judging

will take place over most of the day.

The cheesemakers themselves will only arrive later

for the sit-down dinner and awards ceremony.

These judges have already been going for four hours.

It's quite mature.

Not quite as dry as the last one.

Nice texture.

They need to sample 1,068 cheeses -

including Cheddars, Cheshires,

mozzarellas, Parmesans, Red Leicesters,

blue cheeses and at least ten other varieties.

Very nice.

One of the judges is former Coronation Street actor turned cheesemaker Sean Wilson.

Sean's hard-won knowledge has made him a sought-after judge,

and today he's all over the mozzarellas.

Very, very simple cheese, a mozzarella.

What you should do when you first begin is,

ten points for appearance,

ten points for aroma,

and ten points for the structure of the cheese.

So, yeah, it's a ten-pointer.

And if it breaks like a piece of bread, which exactly it does...

it's the right colour. It's very much the right smell.

It's got everything going for it. And then...

It's got a rich flavour.

It's the X factor - it just makes me smile.

I'm very passionate about the fact that I want to

bring the public to the cheese,

in so far as they can walk into a cheese shop with a bit more confidence.

In the '80s, no-one would step into the wine shops

because it's all a little bit of a world,

it's a little bit above everybody, but it's not above everybody.

That's what we've all learnt. It's the same with cheese.

So if I can just teach some people about the cheeses

and then bring them slowly to the cheese shops,

then hopefully the whole industry will all do better with it.

It's late afternoon.

And while the judges keep going...

..the cheesemakers begin to arrive.

Even though it's the Clothier family's 76th year at this event,

winning a trophy is still very important to them.

Though perhaps not top of their agenda at the moment.

It's looking like a cup of tea, then.

I thought you chaps were heading for a cider.

Well, I was heading for cider, but...

It's a bit early.

We always get a bit butterfly-y, you know,

when you want to win something.

Goat's cheesemaker Roger hasn't shown here for a decade,

but he's feeling just as apprehensive.

I was really nervous when I came in.

There's a nice table of awards there, so we'll...

We'll see. Hopefully some of them will come home with me.

While Roger mingles with the creme de la creme of the cheese world...

Yeah, a lot of good judges here, definitely.

I do like to get up and win awards, though. You know, we'll see.

..unbeknown to him the judges have just reached one of his cheeses -

his Tor.

Let's try this one.

We've got...

Mm!

Just... Well, it's mould.

This is an ash pyramid goat's cheese with a fungus rind,

a lemony flavour and a smooth, close texture.

You've got mould around the outside, generating some flavours in.

Pleasantly surprising.

Not overpowering.

I'd probably give that an eight, to be honest.

With a promising start, they move straight on to Roger's next cheese,

his best-selling Rachel.

This is a semi-soft goat's cheese

with a washed rind and a sweet, medium flavour.

-Lovely smell.

-Yeah, it is.

Always high hopes for Rachel. I'll be pleased if she wins.

I'll be upset if she doesn't win - put it that way.

Good texture. Nice, clean flavour.

-So you'd give that...

-Seven?

-Seven?

-Yeah.

But with a lot of cheeses still to taste,

Roger faces stiff competition.

Looking to make an impact on the judges, as well, is the Clothier family's first entry.

It's one of Granny Ivy's famous recipes,

the vintage Cheddar that has been left to mature undisturbed for 18 months.

-It's definitely got aroma and it's clean.

-Yeah.

We've done everything we can now.

We've picked some lovely cheeses and, you know,

hopefully they'll be what the judges are looking for.

Crumbly.

All senses stimulated, just judgment to be passed.

-I think it's too crumbly.

-Yeah.

The acidity's got the texture and its shot.

-That falls away quite quickly.

-It does, it goes flat.

All you've got is sweetness and then nothing else.

The first bite at judging isn't a strong one for Granny Ivy's cheese.

If it didn't win, the judge was wrong.

Despite a tough start,

it's definitely not all over for the Clothier family.

The judges are about to taste another of Granny Ivy's secret-recipe Cheddars.

It's the last chance for one of her cheeses to win

in this fiercely competitive field.

That crumbles and then comes back, doesn't it?

-It fractures.

-That's good.

It fractures really, really easily.

Dad's got a mixture of, you know,

"Did the judges look happy or didn't they?"

He's trying to call it now.

He's getting a bit anxious, I think.

I like how the layers of flavour build and a nice thing there is

everything's balanced. Nothing's fighting.

-Really good.

-Totally agree.

Definitely got a good chance.

We picked some good cheese.

You can never be certain, anyway, can you?

You don't know what the judges are going to be looking for.

All you can do is give it your best shot.

They won't know it until later,

but they have won a gold medal for this family heirloom.

That's a nine-plus for me.

I like that more than the one in the previous classes.

-Nine?

-Nine and a half?

Nine and a half, yes.

-Yes. So it's a gold?

-Definitely.

The judging is almost coming to an end.

Before it does, Roger has one more offering - his goat's curd.

If we win a gold, it's a big reward for our team back at the farm and in the cheese room.

They can see that what they're doing is working and other people really appreciate it.

Winning a gold medal is a big ambition.

-Clearly goaty.

-Mm.

First to be judged are Roger's rivals in the section.

There we are. Nice and crumbly.

A little bit dry.

Is it better than the first one?

There's almost not enough taste to it.

Tough judges indeed.

And with Roger's fresh curd the next cheese to be tried...

Here we are. Last but not least.

..his trial by trio is about to be run.

We've got a fresh curd going,

which is a lovely, spreadable, very simple cheese.

Nice and light.

Very creamy.

Tangy and really fresh.

-I do like that.

-Excellent.

-So we have a clear winner?

-We do.

-Are you comfortable that 238 is a clear winner?

-Yep, sounds good.

-Very nice.

-Excellent.

We have a gold.

Both the Clothier family and Roger were awarded at least one gold

for their cheeses earlier today.

This means they could qualify for the trophy tonight.

The shows are all about the awards, you know.

It's nice to meet people but I am here primarily to pick up awards that we've won, hopefully.

I'll be happy if we pick up a trophy for one of those cheeses that we

tried yesterday and, you know,

I still think if I had to put my money on it,

I think that extra mature was worth something, I think.

Main course is local lamb with new potatoes and a mint dressing.

But it's the cheese course that everyone's interested in.

You know at a cheese awards you're going to get a quality cheeseboard, so it's great.

-Here you are.

-Sorry.

Not long for the awards now. Just going to finish this cheese and hopefully we'll get on with it.

You can hear, it is buzzing behind me.

Nobody other than probably just two or three people know who've won.

They're sitting there in anticipation,

trying to enjoy their meal,

and hoping that at the end of it they're going to be able to get up

and take a cup or a trophy or an award.

We're now going to start to present the awards and I'm very pleased that

our vice president, Nell Matheson,

has travelled all the way down from Skye today to be here to present these awards. Nell Matheson.

We're presenting the awards ending up with the global champion,

so we're starting with the class winners that have a trophy.

The Clothier family have done well with three of their Cheddars today

and are up for the first group of awards tonight.

And in this instance,

the first class is traditional farmhouse extra-mature Cheddar...

And the winners are Keens Cheddar.

Thank you very much.

Class 837 is the medium farmhouse Cheddar, and it's Barbers.

-I'll just have to do disappointment again, won't I?

-No, you won't.

I've got a degree in disappointment now.

Now we're moving on to the category of the creamery cheese and the first

is for mild, white creamery Cheddar and the winner is...

..Dairy Crest Davidstow.

Yet another disappointment for the family.

The best goat's cheese trophy is next and Roger may have two bites at this cherry -

his best-selling goat's cheese, Rachel,

and his gold-medal-winning curd.

It's when it comes up to announcing the awards for class winners that I know I've got a cheese entered,

I will be on the edge of my seat. I will be.

I want to win.

Best goat's cheese...

..Vandersterre Groep International BV.

But it's not to be.

The Clothiers have one last cheese that could bring home a trophy.

There is a cup for the finest mature Cheddar...

..and the winner of this class is Wyke Farms.

CHEERING

Well done.

This is about as good as it gets. Finest mature is...

-It's what we came for.

-It's what it's all about, isn't it?

Yeah, Ivy was definitely up there looking down, no doubt about it.

It's wonderful to think that a recipe has continued

for over so long a period -

it shows how good a recipe it really was.

I might put it on Ivy's old mantelpiece, actually.

-There you go, John.

-Yeah.

It's been a lovely night. Yeah, we haven't won the major prizes but we won at least one gold

and that's always good, you know, so we'll be back next year for more.

Have to up our game a bit.

The Frome Cheese Awards are over for another year.

They've been a celebration of the best of the British countryside.

Both of these cheesemaking families have worked hard to get here.

There's some really tough parts of this job,

because farming isn't easy.

You get good years and you get bad years so, yeah, there's tough times.

It's not all beer and skittles, as the locals say.

The future starts today.

It's about doing the good things right and turning up and doing a job

that you can be proud of and making cheese that we can be proud of

and running the farm in a way that we're happy with

and we're proud of as well.

I think we make the best cheese in the world.

I believe we make the best cheese in the world.

I will always be a little guy.

Even if we've got 50, 60 people,

we will always operate in the way of a small company.

The guys who make the cheese, they're for ever trying to think of new types of cheese

and I'm happy to let them do that and experiment and give it a go because I don't know what

the next big cheese is going to be, you know, and they might come across

an absolute winner, which would be great.

What does the future hold?

Hopefully, more cheese.