Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2024: Parlourmentary

With his longstanding love of eating cheese and charcuterie platters with friends, it was only a matter of time before James Fowler – founder of Parlourmentary – had a cheese shop to his name. The roots of the business began in his restaurant first opened in 2011, The Larder House. “As we got recognised for our cheeseboards I had the idea of setting up a small cheese table out the front of the restaurant during December,” explains James. “Each year it grew bigger and bigger, to the point it would take two hours to set up and pack down each day.” 

As space became an issue, fate stepped in. “In 2019 a shop became available across the road and Parloumentary was born!” While Covid presented an unexpected challenge, it offered a great opportunity for the Parlourmentary team. “It was a good time for the shop as we were able to offer the local market interesting cheeses, cured meats, and local fruit and vegetables at a time when the supermarkets struggled to keep up.”

Another opportunity was presented by the shop’s sister restaurant. “Teaming up we were able to offer takeaway meals and dinner packages, which were great for those wanting something different when isolating at home.” 

Parlourmentary stands out from the crowd in terms of its display, too – no doubt drawing hungry crowds. “I like to think the shop has a fun and approachable design to its cheese offering, as customers can view all the cheeses in the front windows before coming to the counter – I feel this takes away any nervous requests,” James explains. Seasonality plays a valuable role – “we really follow the seasons, showcasing ingredients that are at their very best, be it from the local farms or further afield in Europe” – plus cheese and whisky tastings, fondue nights and ‘Squeek-easy’ cocktail and cheese nights provide further opportunities for cheese lovers from near and far to get a taste of what Parlourmentary has to offer. 

Parlourmentary’s customer base runs the full gamut, “from avid cheese fans to those wanting to learn about what cheese is,” explains James, although his favourite customers are the children that lead the family cheese board. “We have several young children that dictate what they want to try by style and flavour – it’s inspiring and makes us really feel that we are something special.”

Thanks to his restauranteur background, culinary experimentation is the name of the game at James’s establishments. “I always like to do experimental products,” he begins. “This year I took some younger Stoney Cross from Lyburn and matured it in fermented grape pomace. The pomace was sourced just up the road from a biodynamic winery. Once the Pinos Gris grapes were crushed the fibrous pomace was separated and I placed it in a sealed vat all around the cheeses. After two months of ageing it gave the cheese a real bright and tropical, wine-y finish – I thought it was great, and lucky so did others!” This experimentation was a celebratory coming together of three local businesses: a local cheesemaker, a local winery, and Parlourmentary.

Read about all of our Inspirational Cheese Retailers by downloading the supplement.