Tom Rains, Head Chef at The Daffodil in Cheltenham, shares his monthly gastronomic mission to seek out and enjoy the most interesting, unusual and just plain delicious produce available. Each month, Tom gives us the true story behind the food on our plate and the fascinating producers that make it. This month Tom learns the difference between nannies, does, bucks and billies on a trip to a farm with a difference!
“I do love a young Dutch mistress” declared the Boss and so we headed off to Shropshire on a beautiful sunny morning to sample one!
Before you think my travels have become a little saucy the ‘Dutch Mistress’ referred to (here anyway!) happens to be the name of a delicious goats cheese made by one of our favourite and long standing suppliers, Sarah Hampton of Brock Hall Farm in Shropshire.
Set in beautifully peaceful, countryside Brock Hall farm is not only home to Sarah and her herd of over 70 pedigree Swiss Saanen goats but also where she makes her award winning artisan cheeses.
Following a successful career in journalism and PR, Sarah Hampton discovered the ‘inner farmer’ in her when, with her husband Robert, they bought a farmhouse for renovation with 14 acres. However, instead of thumbing through the pages of interior design magazines for makeover ideas, Sarah was engrossed in reading material such as ‘Goat Husbandry’ by David Mackenzie and studying cheese making at her local technical college.
After a lot of homework Sarah’s goaty journey began with two pedigree Swiss Saanens purchased from a much respected show breeder in Norfolk. They are slightly smaller than our British Saanen and considerably rarer as they originate from only a couple of imports back in the 1920’s.
As we head off to meet the herd via the milking parlour and sleeping pens Sarah’s fastidious attention to detail is immediately apparent. The parlour is immaculate and almost a thing of beauty in itself with its original French sourced 12-in-line milking stall. The sleeping pens are being mucked out by Sarah’s full time, very busy ‘goat girls’ and again the barns are spotless with a relaxing air of calm efficiency about them.
The goats have already had their first milking of the day and are out in the fields but as soon as they hear Sarah’s voice they immediately head over towards us. The bond that Sarah has with these animals is quite amazing and she is able to recall each one by name. Incidentally they are all named after type print fonts which really appealed to the Boss’s menu design OCD - Poppy, Magic, and Tulula all feature…although I noticed Arial bold and Gill Sans were missing!
The herd are milked in groups of 12, twice a day at 5am and 5pm with each group sleeping together in the same ‘family’ pen and they all have rather fetching collars which distinguish their group.
A single goat can produce up to a gallon of milk a day and obviously this yield is affected by a number of factors. Sarah describes her three golden rules to successful yield as pedigree, pasture, and husbandry. It is very evident that all three are here in abundance at Brock Hall Farm. After a few minutes the goats settle down and become gently more inquisitive however, despite the odd nibble at the i-phone in my back pocket, they are surprisingly relaxed as well as looking in amazing condition with beautifully glowing white groomed coats.
After about half an hour in the fields Sarah leads us in to where the real magic occurs - the cheese room. We were greeted by another spotless and efficient area with a built in cheese aging room and two gleaming stainless steel vats where the award winning cheeses begin their life (Sarah has even affectionately named the vats Lucy and Anna after her two daughters). The milking parlour is directly next to the cheese making room so the milk has a journey of no more than 20 feet from tank to vat. It even has a viewing window so you can see the milking stall in action whilst stirring cheese.
Using raw-milk Sarah makes five different artisan cheeses all with their own distinctive character. There is the soft and lactic Fresco Angelico which won a silver medal at the World Cheese awards; a delicious ashed and mould ripened log called Pablo Cabrito; a large semi hard cheese named Joie de Chevre; and the outrageously moreish semi-soft Capra Nouveau which is rind washed then wrapped with a delicately fragrant spruce band. This cheese won three Great Taste Gold Stars in 2012.
Finally, of course there is the charming Dutch Mistress, a washed rind, semi-hard whole truckle with a full flavour that continues to develop beautifully as she ages. Sarah treats me to an impromptu tasting of cheeses at various stages of development and rounded off with a brew of tea made with fresh raw goat’s milk straight from Poppy – delicious!
As well as featuring Brock Hall Farm’s award winning cheeses on our regular monthly cheese board, I have also put together a delicious goats cheese Summer Salad for our August menu so don’t rely on my word ….come and taste some of Sarah’s delights for yourself!
