Stilton Production Returns to Hartington

The Hartington Dairy, in Derbyshire, used to make a quarter of the world’s Stilton and was one of the country’s biggest producers, but its closure three years ago put an end to cheesemaking in the area.

The Hartington Creamery was established by Alan Salt and Adrian Cartlidge, who wanted to keep the tradition alive and start producing Stilton in the county.

They teamed up with Claire and Garry Millner, the owners of the Old Cheese Shop, in Hartington, and Simon Davidson from the Cheese Factor, in Chesterfield.

Mrs Millner said, “We were so excited because it was something we wanted to see resurrected and we asked could we join forces with them to make it happen? It was just what Alan and Adrian needed, because they had the passion and experience to make cheese but not necessarily the business know-how, which we knew we could manage for them.”

The creamery began making cheese in October 2012 and now produces blue and white varieties.

It hopes to gain accreditation for a Stilton license in 2013, which will allow the cheese to be legally named as Stilton.

In the meantime, the company has released a cheese called Peakland White and has plans to launch Pike Hall Blue.

The creamery plans to make around 45 tonnes of cheese over the next 12 months, with the aim of eventually producing 200 tonnes per year.