Cheshire Cheese to carry the torch for the 2008 F&D Olympics
Captains of industry and Council leaders will ignite this year’s annual Chester Cheese Rolling competition next week with a new event. More than 40 of Chester and Cheshire’s leading decision makers will carry a wheel of Cheshire cheese around the Chester Walls and deliver it to the starting gate in Bridge Street on Tuesday February 26, as part of the new opening ceremony of this important Chester event.
The Dean of Chester Cathedral Prof Gordon McPhate will start the cheese rolling at 11am.
Cheshire Cheese is one of the region’s most famous exports and the Chester Food and Drink Festival is celebrating this in its Launch Event – the “infamous’ Cheese Rolling Championship.
Cheshire will compete against teams from Lancashire and Stilton, in this battle of the big cheese, together with a team of celebrities. The town crier might even roll up. There will also be the monthly producers market in the Town Hall Square with 10 extra stalls by the cheese rolling course selling quality local fayre, a good reason to come and cheer on your favourite team.
Teams are already in training with Cheshire on a roll as the current title holders. Cheshire, again hopes to retain the title, rolling for a record fifth consecutive win. Lancashire and Stilton are being very mature about the whole thing.
Stephen Wundke, chairman of the Chester Food and Drink Festival, said: “I am delighted that with the Renaissance of the city of Chester well underway, so many of our leading politicians and business heads across the county have agreed to take part in this unique event. This ancient ritual of cheese rolling dates back to the Romans and as the opening event for the Chester Food and Drink Festival it is symbolic of the new attitude that shows everyone within the city and county all working together. This really signals food and drink as one of Cheshire’s most important products.”
Chester Food and Drink Festival runs from March 22nd to 24th 2008, Easter Saturday to Easter Monday and is moving to Chester Racecourse in this, the seventh year of the event. There will be free parking available at the Racecourse, which will have villages for produce from Cheshire and North Wales within it, together with sections for national and international produce, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Cheshire. The Festival is larger for 2008 and surrounded by a small village of stalls and displays, with more than 100 confirmed exhibitors already.
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), Cheshire County Council, Made in Cheshire and North West Fine Foods and Visit Chester & Cheshire, the tourism board for Cheshire and Warrington.
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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 built 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.
Notes February will see the start of the Festival celebrations with preliminary judging to find the four finalists for the Young Chef of the Year “cook off’ that will take place during the Festival. Also, there will be the announcement of the schools competition for Cheshire Junior Chef of the Year.
The Gala Dinner and awards ceremony will ensure more than 400 people sample a gourmet menu sourced from leading producers in the North West. This is likely to be held on Tuesday March 25th 2008.
Festival brochures will be available across the City from February. Phone 01244 351609 for more details. For further information on the region go to www.visitchester.com. More general information at www.chesterfoodanddrink.com
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