The main addition to the shop this month has been our brilliant local gin! Twisting Spirits is distilled just near Goring and so the gin travels less than 10 miles to get to us. There are three flavours – Kaffir Lime, Douglas Fir & Earl Grey. Everyone that has tasted it in the shop loves it and it’s flying off our shelves. Why not pop into the shop and see which of the three takes your fancy?
We’re heading towards our busiest time of year in the shop and so the whole team have been hard at work. We spend a great deal of time in researching the products we will stock at Christmas and it’s always very hard to choose items that we will think will be popular. We don’t have much storage space and so it’s a question of buying in enough stock but not so much that we can’t fit it in the shop. It’s then a waiting game to see if our customers like the lines we have.
I’m no good at any of the decorative things (I leave all of that to Ali & Angela) so my job is to look at all the cheeses from all of our cheesemakers and wholesalers and choose what we should have in and how much of each cheese to pre-order. It’s my favourite part of the festive preparation. I go all out to source new little cheeseboard cheeses at the best price I can so that our customers can have the most amazing selections. I’ve been dealing with a couple of new suppliers over the last few weeks and have made a switch with regards to some of our continental cheeses. For me it’s all about getting the best cheese I can and I do like to drive a hard bargain! The cheese that I’m most looking forward to getting in is a fabulous Beaufort. This is an alpine cheese, made exclusively in the Savoie region of the French Alps. Legend has it that the production of it dates back to 121 BC when the Romans were occupying France – I’m hoping the one we’re getting in isn’t quite that old…! We’ve also got the lovely Vacherin in store at the moment, it’s worth the 7 month wait to get it back in stock as it is always such a great treat.
We have a Christmas Order form in store (and I can email out copies if you need one – just let me know at info@cheese-etc.co.uk) and it’s always a good idea to fill one out and let us prepare your cheese ready for collection. Favourites such as Barkham Blue sell out very quickly and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Priority goes to customers who have put in an early request. We will always have cheese in our counter but if there is a particular cheese that makes your Christmas special then please do let us know to reserve it for you. Equally if we don’t have a particular cheese on offer then let us know and I will do everything I can to get it. As well as all of our cheeses, crackers and chutneys, Clare (our fabulous cake maker) has great range of locally homemade Christmas cakes & puddings available to order – her cakes are absolutely delicious and always very popular!
It’s definitely starting to feel a lot like Christmas!
