I’ve been asked a couple of times recently why cheese and how Ali and I got into cheese and what I do outside of the shop.

To cut a long story short, I don’t eat cake but I love cheese and so when we got married a cheese wedding cake was the obvious solution. We did some research and the Pangbourne Cheese Shop was the closet place to us that could supply the cake. We then used to pop into the shop every now and then to buy some great cheese as a treat. On one visit Angela mentioned that the shop was going to be sold and we thought we’d jump in! (I’m a complete risk taker and very impulsive but it turned out to be one of the best decisions we’d ever made – the very best decision was when i got down on one knee and proposed but that’s a whole different story!)

Since then I have completely immersed myself in the world of cheese and I’ve read every cheese book that I could lay my hands on, I’ve been on courses, attended lectures and studied very aspect of cheese. I still love to research new cheeses and I can bore people to tears with fascinating cheesy facts. Cheese is the ultimate food source: it is high in protein, calcium and vitamin B-12 (which is crucial for vegetarians like me), it’s great for your gut and it tastes delicious!

Whenever i look at our counter it still amazes me that you can take a raw product of milk and turn it into all the different cheeses that we sell. It truly is an incredible product and I feel so honoured to be able to work with it every day. So that’s how I got into cheese ?. As for what I do when I’m not in the shop… I do live cheese and so I spend a lot of time researching cheese as well as travelling around meeting cheesemakers, visiting other cheesemongers and taking in as much information as I can.

In my ‘free’ time I am generally either in the gym, out running, supporting my football team or in my local school where I am Chair of Governors. There’s not really much space for down time but I thrive on being busy and I love every moment of every day.

But enough about that, what’s new in Pangbourne…? We have been showcasing some guest cheeses over the last few weeks. They come into our counter of a week or so and once they’re gone, they’re gone (unless I manage to find a little spot to make them permanent…) One of our guests has been a cheese called Crofton. This gorgeous cheese is a blend of cow and goats’ milk which gives it a unique taste and texture. We’ve also had some Shipston Blue in which is a blue cheese made from Buffalo milk. It’s very creamy with a really nice deep blue flavour. I’m hoping to incorporate a guest cheese spot in the counter so that our lovely customers can easily see what we’re showcasing.

On the other side of the shop we have introduced some new nibbles – chorizo thins & duck fritons. They are made in Berkshire and are designed to go with wines & beers. They are incredibly moreish and they’ve proved to be very popular. We’re hoping that their creator, Alun, will come into the shop and do some tasting on a Saturday within the next few weeks.

Lastly, I can only apologise to those of you who are unfortunate enough to live on my running route… I’ve been testing out my ankle and have hit the streets of Pangbourne. I don’t run very far, or very fast, but it’s all going really well ? Having my ankle fused last year was a testing time but it has turned out to be the right decision and I’m so chuffed with how it’s coping with the increased mileage that I’m putting in. If you do see me out on a run do worry if I look like I’m about to keel over but I am actually enjoying it and every step is a triumph ??.