Crackers at the ready… Newcastle is about to get considerably cheesier.
Makers from across Britain and Ireland are heading to the city at the beginning of next month (October) for what is being billed as its first cheese festival – the long-held ambition of Jesmond cheesemonger Moz Murphy.
grate Cheese Fest will take over Summerhill Bowling Club on Sunday, October 4, bringing six cheesemakers together with local food and drink producers for five hours of tasting, talking and buying cheese.
The event also marks the sixth birthday of grate, the independent Jesmond Road shop Moz opened in the decidedly unpromising circumstances of 2020.
But the seeds of her cheese obsession were sown much earlier, during her first job after university on the cheese counter at Fortnum and Mason.
“My first day at Fortnums, I was given a taste of Montgomery Cheddar and it blew my mind that something could be so complex and delicious,” she says.
Originally from Dublin, Moz has lived in the North East since 2001 and worked in a host of places before deciding to open “the kind of cheese shop that I would want to shop at”.
A festival has been on her wish list almost ever since.
“I’ve wanted to do a cheese festival since year two, but haven’t felt confident enough that people would respond/attend - so when I sent the email invitations to our favourite makers, I wasn’t sure anyone would want to come!
“Thankfully, we have six fantastic makers from across Britain and Ireland coming to meet our customers, share their stories and see what I’ve been building this past six years.”
Those making the trip include producers behind Baron Bigod, Blackmount, Doddington and Shepherd’s Purse, while Newcastle Cocktail Kitchen, Northumbrian Pantry and Belly of the Beast are also on the bill.
International cheese judge and author Carlos Yescas – a grate customer since moving to Newcastle five years ago – will MC proceedings, interviewing the makers and signing copies of his book, One Cheese to Rule Them All.
Carlos says: “The North East has never had an event like this, where multiple award winning cheesemakers are sampling their products and sharing their personal stories under one roof.
“I hope people come join us and take an opportunity to learn more about exceptional cheese made in the British isles. grate’s Cheese Fest will be remembered as the cheesiest event (pun intended), thanks to Moz’s visionary idea to open a cheese shop six years ago.”
For Moz, getting customers and cheesemakers into the same room is an important part of the idea.
“The role of a cheesemonger is to sell the idea of what the cheesemaker makes - we’re so different to a supermarket cheese counter, we have close relationships with the makers and they have to trust us to showcase what they do - it’s something that our customers have really responded to.”
And she’s already hoping this won’t be a one-off.
“I’d love this to become a yearly event for all the cheese people in the North East.”
grate Cheese Fest is at Summerhill Bowling Club on Sunday, October 4, 10am-3pm. Tickets are £5 and must be booked in advance.