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Top Yorkshire chef backs Wensleydale cheese campaign
Lizzie Murphy CELEBRITY chef Brian Turner CBE has pledged his support for our Uniquely Yorkshire campaign to protect Real Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese from imitations.
Wensleydale Dairy Products, the main producer of the cheese, is applying to the European Union for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, which would mean that other manufacturers would be unable to make a product and call it Real Yorkshire Wensleydale.
The Yorkshire Post is supporting the move.
Yorkshire-born chef Mr Turner said the move would enable consumers to make a more informed decision about cheese they bought.
He said: "Lots of products are what they are because of the uniqueness of where they are made, and, in the case of Wensleydale cheese, the milk they use, so it gives them individuality.
"We have learned that cheddar cheese is not the same as real Somerset cheddar – it has a different taste if it is not made in that area."
He added that there were many poor-quality impostors of Wensleydale on the market. Real Yorkshire Wensleydale is made from milk produced by dairy herds from 36 farms within a nine-mile radius of Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes.
The cows graze in sweet limestone meadows rich in herbs, which gives the cheese its special flavour.
Mr Turner, who owns restaurants in Mayfair, Slough-Windsor and Birmingham, said: "It's a shame lots of products are being made without due care and attention.
"I am a great champagne drinker and its PDO is a classic example of people who fight hard to maintain the integrity of their area. The name of their product is enhanced and nobody can doubt its quality."
He added: "I am a great fan of Wensleydale cheese. The salty sour taste works well. When I was growing up there were only nine cheeses available in the UK and they were all hard like Wensleydale.
"Now there is so much about these days and as a chef I am constantly looking at different things.
"There are various ways you can use Wensleydale. One of the classics is eating it with apple or fruit cake. It is also good in crab quiche."
Mr Turner said he tried to use real cheeses wherever possible. He said: "We are very fortunate that we have a cheese man who comes to the back door and usually has the real cheeses, including real Wensleydale.
"I suspect that I could tell the difference between real Wensleydale and an imitation, although there are some very good imitations.
"It's like wine. There are some very good sparkling wines around but I would always be able to tell the difference between them and champagne.
"Being from Yorkshire, I can smell the region and tasting the real cheese is like a welcome home for me."
Mr Turner said that not all products were worthy of EU backing.
"You have to look at the quality of the product," he said. "People have to make a very good case for the uniqueness of their product. That is the case for Wensleydale."
See Wednesday's Life and Style for Brian Turner's recipes using Wensleydale cheese.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN
To add your support to the 'Uniquely Yorkshire' campaign, visit our website www.yorkshireposttoday.co.uk
We are also inviting you to send us your favourite Wensleydale cheese recipes. Email uniquely.yorkshire @ypn.co.uk, making sure to include your name and address.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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