How a barmy idea for making sheeps cheese ended in worldwide acclaim for Yorkshire’s Judy Bell

It is eight years since Judy handed over the day-to-day running of Thirsk-based Shepherds Purse Artisan Cheeses to her daughters, Katie and Caroline. But she is still involved with the business, living adjacent to the creamery and chairing the board.

Judy was a pharmacist before meeting and marrying farmer Nigel Bell and having four children. After becoming a mum, she went to work part-time for an osteopath in Northallerton.

It was there that she became aware of people being intolerant to dairy products and hit on the idea of making cheese from ewes’ milk, despite having no experience of food manufacturing.

Like many farmers in the late 80s, the Bells were being encouraged to diversify to survive. They had an 180 acre arable farm with some beef cattle and pigs and initially Nigel was sceptical about Judy’s desire to have sheep.

But a determined Judy managed to convince him and, after getting a loan from the bank, she bought the 40 ewes she needed to start her business. However that proved to be the easy part. Judy had never even milked a cow before, let alone a sheep and she had very little idea of cheese making. So she embarked on a two-day course.

“It is very much a skill. I never thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. The trick is to get the consistency, so that you make the same cheese every time. It was never about making money,” she says. “I started out trying to create a product which helped people.”

Her first sheep’s cheeses were released to the public in 1988 at farmers’ markets, although the big product launch came in July 1989 at the Great Yorkshire Show.

“When people saw that it was made with sheep’s milk, more than 25 per cent of them turned the other way. I thought that I had made the biggest mistake.

“People associate sheep’s milk with a strong flavour like some goats’ cheese, but it isn’t like that. Once they taste it they like it.”

Judy decided to enter her ewes’ milk cheese into the Nantwich International Cheese Show, which attracts more than 1,200 cheeses. Hers won first prize – the first of many accolades received by Shepherds Purse in the last two and a half decades.

She says that none of it would have happened without the support of Les Lambert, of Fountains Dairy, who revived Coverdale cheese and was a huge inspiration to her.

In July 1993 Tesco approached Judy to supply her cheeses on a limited basis. Most businesses trying to expand would have bitten their hands off – not Judy Bell. No one was going to sell her produce if they didn’t know a thing or two about cheese and sheep.

She told Tesco they could sell her cheese but she would train their staff. And train them she did. Staff from Tesco came to Shepherds Purse for intensive training. She showed them round, cooked them food made from her cheese and then talked them through the products.

“When Shepherds Purse went on sale in that store, they sold like hot cakes,” says Judy who received an MBE in 2002 for her voluntary work and services to the farming community in North Yorkshire.

Other supermarkets followed suit and soon the demand outstripped the supply of milk. But, just as the business was taking off, Judy and Nigel’s youngest son, Jonathan, was killed in a car crash. Jonathan worked on the farm and looked after the sheep.

Following his death, their other son Justin returned to the family business. It was his suggestion that the family start to develop a range of cows’ milk cheeses. Yorkshire Blue now accounts for 75 per cent of the company’s total production which now includes nine different cheeses.

Judy is still chairman of the board and keeps her finger on the pulse, but leaves the running of the business to her daughters.

Like for all businesses, the last 18 months have proved challenging, although the expansion of Shepherds Purse on line business, especially its Yorkshire hampers, have proved a massive success and an innovation they will maintain.

But it isn’t just for the work she has done for her own company that Judy Bell received Lifetime Achievement Award from The Guild of Fine Food at their Great Taste Awards, in Harrogate, last week.

Always a keen believer in networking and of championing local produce, when not at Shepherds Purse she is fighting the cause of the small producer. She was a founder and is still the chair of Deliciously Yorkshire, championing the finest produce from God’s Own County for the past 30 years, since it’s early days, as the Yorkshire Pantry.

Presenting her with the award passionate foodie, Yorkshireman and radio personality Nigel Barden dubbed her a ‘human dynamo’.

“It’s an honour to hand over The Guild of Fine Food Lifetime Achievement Award to someone who is synonymous with food, drink and agriculture in Yorkshire, but their influence has spread way beyond, as their produce has gleaned accolades all over the world,” said Nigel.

But to Judy the award came as a huge surprise. “I think I was the only person in the room who didn’t know about it. But as soon as I heard the description of who had won I knew it was me,” she says.“It is always an honour to receive award but when it comes from inside the industry.”

She is as passionate as ever about the role for Deliciously Yorkshire in mentoring and promoting its members but she is aware it needs to move with the times.

“We are a small experienced board but we could really do with some new blood especially some younger members,” she says honestly.

Judy says awards like The Guild of Fine Food ones held in Harrogate this year and the Deliciously Yorkshire awards which are being helped next month are vital especially at this time.

“We have 205 members but sadly some have not survived the challenges of the past couple of years, but we have record number of producers entering the DY Awards this year and I think the awards ceremony on November 10 is just what everyone needs.

“There is such an amazing amount of diversity amongst our producers. A lot of good collaborations and innovations have come out of the pandemic although it has been tough for a lot of people.” Although times are very different to when she started out Judy says she would do it again today: “If you have a good idea and you are passionate about it then you should go for it.”