Cheese rolling Cheshire style wins for third year running
After a hardened battle between the big cheeses a team of Cheshire cheese high-rollers narrowly beat old rivals Stilton, blue with cold in the rainy city streets of Chester. Cheshire kept their cool, their title and the cup to roll their way into the record books to launch the fifth Chester Food and Drink Festival to be held over the Easter weekend.
Hundreds of spectators lined Chester’s ancient Bridge Street Rows to gain a vantage point. Sheriff of Chester Cllr. Colin Bain started each race involving teams from Cheshire, Lancashire, Stilton, Visit Chester & Cheshire and Chester’s Platinum Lounge.
Cheshire Cheese is, along with the grinning Cheshire Cat, one of the regions most famous exports and renowned Cheshire Cheese maker, John Bourne of HS Bourne, who still makes his cheese in the same way as his great, great grandfather did 300 years ago, led the Cheshire team with his son Hugo captaining the victorious team.
Stephen Wundke, Chairman of the Chester Food and Drink Festival, said:
“The cheese rolling event always launches the annual Chester Food & Drink Festival on a roll. It is fast becoming one of the biggest food festivals in the country especially now we’re running it over the Easter weekend.”
Other members of the winning ‘Made in Cheshire’ team included Nick Thomas, of The Cheese Shop on Northgate Street, Neal Bates, co-owner of Brasserie 10/16 in Brookdale Place and Tom Hughes of Made in Cheshire.
There was a producers market near The Cross with 10 stalls selling quality local fayre and entertainment was provided by Bang Out Productions, who are based in Chester, an internationally flavoured class-act with Monsieur Fromage and members of the winning team of the 1882 Cheese Rolling Challenge.
For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival please visit www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.
Chester’s Food and Drink Festival is organised on behalf of Chester City Council with support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Visit Chester & Cheshire; the tourism board for Cheshire and Warrington, Cheshire County Council, Made in Cheshire and North West Fine Foods.
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Background
Chester’s Food and Drink Fringe Festival will also take place around the City from 12 to 22 April 2006 involving special offers for accommodation and eating out to excite the whole family. There will also be the famous Cheese Rolling ceremony on 15th March, the Bottle Cap Mosaic World Record Attempt on 3rd April and the Ale Assize around the City on 22nd April.
Nearly 100 producers and exhibitors now completely fill the taste marquee. Each will be bringing their own skills and produce from Cheshire, nearby counties and around the world to be part of the Festival.
There are to be seminars and competitions in micro brewing, wines, sausages and cheeses and the opportunity to taste local pate, black pudding, bread, cereals, oils, pies, meat, fish, cheeses, chocolates, liqueurs and even a juice bar.
The prestigious gala dinner and awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday 18th April. Entries for the award categories are already being received.
Competitors
CHESHIRE
Hugo Bourne H S Bourne, Malpas Captain Hugo is the 14th generation of the Bourne family – renowned for hand-making quality Cheshire Cheese since 1750, commercially since 1930. Well known for their Mrs Bourne’s Mature Cheshire, John Bourne’s Organic Cheshire and Blue Cheshire www.hsbourne.co.uk
Nick Thomas The Cheese Shop, Chester Well known in the region as the shop for everything cheese! Also has a wide range of delicatessen provisions. Tel: 01244 346240 www.chestercheeseshop.com
Neal Bates Brasserie 10/16, Chester Neal Bates is co-owner of Brasserie 10/16 in Chester, the 2002 Chester Food and Drink Festival’s Restaurant of the Year, plus the Brasserie in Hawarden. www.brasserie1016.com
Tom Hughes of Made in Cheshire. Made in Cheshire is a membership organisation which raises awareness, organises events and provides business support aimed at promoting Cheshire Food and Drink and its producers, within the county, nationally and internationally. It is a partnership of Cheshire County Council, Borough Councils and local producers and part of The Fantastic Foods Partnership. www.madeincheshire.com
MADE IN LANCASHIRE
Leading the Lancashire charge was team captain Ella Tricket with colleagues Helen Kirkham and Fiona Haile. Their final team member was their ‘secret weapon’ revealed at the last minute as Phil Walker of Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Preston.
STILTON
Stilton fielded what was rumoured to be a heavyweight team, shrouded in mystery until the last moment! Steve Smith from Longclauson Dairy, Peter Tinsley, Paul Moore and Stuart Richardson all representing the Stilton Cheese Makers Association.
Speaking before the event Nigel White, spokesman for the Stilton Cheese Makers Association, said: “Stilton is known as the King of Cheeses and this challenge gives us the opportunity to prove it. We have heard that the Cheshire team is confident of victory again but we are sure that we can prove that not only is Stilton the most popular of English cheeses but that our team is King of the Cheese Rollers!”
VISIT CHESTER & CHESHIRE
The team included Kevin Ellis-Baxter, Emma Tatlow, Lucy Johnson and Richard Daly.
THE PLATINUM LOUNGE
Chester’s lap dancing Club, based in Bridge Street Row, fielded a strong team of dancers, Tracey Beaker, Charlie Shaw, Emma-Louise, Gemma Smith and Clare Wilson.
CHEESE Notes:
The Competition is a celebration of the fact that Cheshire cheese, arguably one of the oldest cheeses in the world, has seen a huge revival in its popularity in recent years. Market share has climbed steadily over the past 12 months as punters realise that the pale, bland mass-produced cheese, which often carries the Cheshire name, bears very little resemblance to the genuine article.
Cheshire cheese dates back to Roman times and was originally said to be made in a mould shaped like a cat, later made famous as the smiling Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. When the Romans invaded Britain back in the 54 BC they found a hardy race for whom cheese was their chief diet. It is a recognised fact that the Romans build Chester due to the value they placed on the cheese produced on its salty plains (and to keep the Welsh at bay). Mentioned in the Domesday Book, a favourite in the Elizabethan court and admired and written about by Charles Dickens, Cheshire Cheese continued to flourish and was considered the best in the country. While Romans are no more, the secret of the excellence of Cheshire Cheese remains, and, thanks to the award-winning efforts of producers such as HS Bourne, consumers are rediscovering the wonderful, true taste of Cheshire again.
The term ‘Big Cheese’ derives from a medieval term of envy for those who could afford to buy expensive whole wheels of cheese.
There are only six dairies licensed to make Stilton cheese in the whole world. They are based in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and there are very strict rules to which they must abide to keep the product pure. For example stilton must be made using local milk and can only be made in a cylindrical shape. More information at www.stiltoncheese.com.
There are over 400 varieties of British cheese available. Approximately £1.5 billion of British cheese is bought annually. Cheshire Cheese is the UK’s largest selling crumbly cheese with sales of around 6,500 tonnes per year, this compares with Stilton’s sales of approximately 53,000 tonnes. Sales of cheese in the UK grew 1-2% during 2002 compared with 2001. However, compared to other EU countries, the UK is among the lowest consumers of cheese: consumption per head in the UK is roughly 55% of the average consumption in the other 14 member countries.
Festival brochures are available across the City from March. Phone 01244 351609 for more details.
For further information on the region please visit www.visitchester.com.
Press Contacts: Jane Harrad-Roberts Mob: 07785 395705 Phil Brotherhood Mob: 0788 44 93370 MARKETING PROJECTS : Tel: 01244 330000
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