Say Cheese, Cheddar Cheese!

Ever wondered where Cheddar Cheese comes from? It doesn't have a fancy appellation controlée, but if it did, a little village in the West of England called Cheddar would probably be the only place in Europe allowed to produce it.


Cheddar Village is nestled in between the two sides of a steep and impressive gorge, the largest in Britain, surrounded by the Mendip Hills.


As well as its cheese, Cheddar is famous for it's beautiful caves. JRR Tolkein honeymooned in Cheddar and it is said that these caves inspired the Crystal Caves at Helm's Deep in the Lord of The Rings.

If you let your imagination run a little wild, the subject of food might actually cross your mind when you are visiting the caves...


Do the walls look like honeycomb?


Do they look like chocolate?


No, no, no, nothing sweet in these caves. If you look closely, you'll see the cave walls are actually made entirely from grilled cheese!

Yes. Grilled Cheese is spread all over the caves. The local cheese makers just scrape it off the walls and mold it into drum shapes before shipping it off to supermarkets all over the world.

Nature obviously predetermined that this little place should have a strong connection with cheese. No wonder one of the world's most famous cheeses comes from right here, this tiny little village called Cheddar. The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company make the only cheddar still produced in the village. Their dairy is open to the public and you can actually go inside and watch the cheese being made.


Watch the Cheddar being made

Read all about the process here


The end result. My mum, who likes cheese strong enough to strip the roof off of the top of her mouth is after a slice of the Vintage. It's been left to mature for two years. Good, strong stuff!

Say Cheese, Cheddar Cheese!