How do you move a dairy? Very, very Caerphilly

Not so the Trethowan brothers. In pursuit of perfection, Todd and Maugan decided to take the drastic step of transplanting their entire dairy operation to another country

After 18 years of handcrafting Gorwydd Caerphilly at the family farm in Ceredigion, Wales, the Trethowans have this year uprooted across the border to Hewish, Somerset. After a six month intensive build to get the new dairy operational, the first cheeses were made on the 14th August and are now ready for sale.

Todd Trethowan said, “After experiencing problems with changing raw milk suppliers we were desperate to be able to control milk consistency and had to take a long term view to resolving that issue. It took 18 months of searching to find the right herd and location to provide us with our milk.

“The move has been a hugely risky undertaking. The process of recreating the correct conditions to exactly replicate our delicate Gorwydd Caerphilly has been a painstaking task but ultimately very rewarding. It is so satisfying to now be in the position where we have cheeses ready to eat and sell – I know that I’ve missed it!

“As a family we’re immensely proud of our achievement – to be able to create Caerphilly of outstanding quality, exactly as it should be.”

Todd recently gave a master class presentation about Trethowan’s Dairy to retailers and caterers who were invited to Cheese Cellars bi-annual Supplier Day.

Owen Davies, category manager at Cheese Cellar said, “It’s very brave to put all your eggs into one basket and to make one cheese. But what Todd and his brother Maugan do is make a cheese to its very best; each element of the cheese is thought through to ensure the very best cheese is produced. I love this Caerphilly – a must for any cheese board.”