Northampton cheesemaker bounces back from fire and wins two awards for bestsellers

A Northampton cheesemaker has bounced back from a fire that destroyed £24,000 worth of produce at the end of last year, and has won awards for two of his bestsellers.

Gary Bradshaw, who runs Cobblers Nibble as part of Hamm Tun Fine Foods in Long Buckby, was pleased to receive silver for both his Northamptonshire Blue and Shoetown Blue cheeses at the recent Weetabix Food and Drink Awards.

He said: “I’m very happy and it’s good to get some recognition.”

This comes after he discovered an electrical fire just days before Christmas last year, which left two months of hard work burnt and charred – which weighed 150 kilos and was worth £24,000.

After six weeks off work and four solid weeks of cleaning and replacing equipment, Gary returned to what he loved doing most earlier this year.

As it takes around six weeks for cheese to age, Cobblers Nibble was not able to properly sell again until March.

“It’s good that people recognise the hard work you put in,” said Gary. “It was a tough time and I didn’t know if I was going to start up again. The fire was a huge setback.”

After returning to making cheese, Cobblers Nibble experienced one of their busiest periods to date – but now face a quiet time during the summer.

Though Gary has attended a number of food shows and markets, as he usually would at this time of year, he said it is “not on the same level as last year as people are struggling with finances”.

Following a quiet two to three months, Gary has adjusted what he does and is making less cheese as the cost of electricity for him is “astronomical”.

When asked if the award-winning cheeses are among his customers’ favourites, Gary says the Northamptonshire Blue has always been his bestseller and they sell two-to-three times the amount of it compared to other cheeses.

Shoetown Blue, a small and soft individual cheese, is also a popular choice and they tend to sell out at food shows.

As Gary makes only 150 of these a week, customers have to be quick to get their hands on any.

When asked about the plans to launch a new brie in store, which Gary told this newspaper about earlier in the year, he said he started selling it but has put it on the back burner for now.

As brie requires a separate ageing process, the cheesemaker has chosen to hold off until he can secure a new space to do it – but hopes to properly launch it ahead of Christmas.

Gary will be attending the Silverstone Classic Festival for three days at the end of the month, which he hopes will be a success.

With the two silver awards taking pride of place at Hamm Tun Fine Foods, in High Street, Long Buckby, Gary says it “makes a difference”.

“Everyone comments about them on the wall and wants to try the winning cheeses,” he said.

To keep up to date with Cobblers Nibble and Hamm Tun Fine Foods, check out their Facebook page here.