The cheeses that I love: Dan Williams

As part of our series, which sees cheesemongers and cheese specialists across the UK unveil the cheeses they love to eat most, Speciality Food chats to Dan Williams of Godfrey C Williams & Son - which boasts a huge selection of both classic British, and exciting European varieties.

1. Red Fox - Belton Farm - Great For Cooking

A Red Leicester-type cheese - smooth, sweet, and with a crunch. I find Belton Farm Red Fox is often my go-to choice when customers ask for a cheese recommendation for cheese on toast, jacket potatoes, or anything that requires ‘a good melter’.

2. Rosary Goats’ - Rosary Goats Cheese - Best For Cheese and Wine

Very mild and soft. Fresh and clean (to the point you’d barely notice it’s a goats’ cheese). Rosary Goats’ is fantastically versatile. We’ve paired this before with a whole range of different wines, including Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay, a crisp rosé, and even English sparkling wine.

3. King of the Castle - White Lake Dairy - Favourite New Discovery

A recent discovery! King of the Castle is a mild, fresh, crisp and zesty goats’ cheese with a texture quite similar to Cheshire cheese. To find something so similar, yet so different to one of my all-time favourite cheeses is refreshing, and makes me fall in love with cheese all over again!

4. White Cheshire - Appleby’s Dairy - Best Local Cheese

Though just over the border in Shropshire, Appleby’s Dairy sits well within ‘The Cheshire Plain’ - a flat lowland area where the majority of Cheshire Cheese was produced. My preference is for a mild and crisp Appleby’s White Cheshire, great with slices of apple or fruit cake.

5. Pitchfork Cheddar - Trethowan Brothers - Favourite Cheddar

I’ll have phases of which Cheddar I like to take home. Sometimes it will be a tangy wedge of Isle of Mull. Sometimes an earthy chunk of Montgomery’s. Currently, I’m enjoying the dense and juicy Pitchfork, an artisan Somerset Cheddar that often beholds an orchestra of a flavour profile.

6. Cornish Yarg - Lynher Dairies - English Wine Classic

The rise and rise of English Wine is something that British cheese shops and delis should embrace, with English cheese and wine pairings the best way to do this. The mild and lemony Cornish Yarg works very well with an English white wine with a bit of acidity. I recommend Cornish Yarg with New Hall Single Estate Bacchus 2022, Rowton Solaris 2022, or Simpsons Gravel Castle Chardonnay 2023.

7. Northern Blue - Shepherds Purse - Favourite Blue

Again, another tough one to narrow down! Northern Blue is a customer favourite in our shop, owing to the balance of rich and creamy paste against a full-flavoured and tangy blue bite. A great British alternative to stronger continental blues like Gorgonzola Piccante.

8. Après-Soleil - Jumi Cheese - Favourite Continental Cheese

A recent addition to our counter, Après Soleil is a hard Alpine cheese with a subtle crystalline texture and a great depth and balance of distinctive sweet and savoury flavours. The name ‘Après Soleil’ comes from the unique maturation process for this cheese, where sunlight streams into the cave and alters it’s character.

9. Baron Bigod - Fen Farm Dairy - Best Continental Cheese Replacement

British producers create some outstanding cheeses that rival, even better, well-known continental examples. Replace your Manchego with Spenwood, ditch the Gorgonzola Dolce for Beauvale, and switch the Feta for Graceburn! Above all, Baron Bigod sits as my best replacement - to the point that we only stock Brie de Meaux at Christmas!

10. ‘The Italian Job’ - The Great British Cheese Company - Best Blended Cheese

Blended cheese continues to grow in popularity (ignore it at your peril). If you want to look beyond the usual Wensleydale & Cranberry, ‘The Italian Job’ is worth a try. A mild Wensleydale cheese with zesty lemon and refreshing limoncello makes this one of our most popular blended cheeses for summer.