True Brie or not true Brie, that is the question

Barncliffe Brie, produced by The Dairy at Barncliffe Mill in Shelley near Huddersfield, is aimed at fans of the French cheese.

The manufacturer Danny Lockwood set up The Dairy in March after selling a sandwich shop in Halifax. He cooked up the idea over a pint with renowned cheese purveyor Michael Lee from Pontefract.

He said yesterday: "I said there was no such thing as a Yorkshire Brie and Danny went off and made one. I have a lot of customers who do Yorkshire cheese-boards and this was the missing element. It's also nice to have something from West Yorkshire.

"Swaledale Cheese has registered protected status. Wensleydale Creameries is trying for it. The French would probably like the same for Brie but I already supply Bries from Cornwall and Somerset and you can make Cheddar anywhere."

He uses milk from Meuse-Rhine-Issel cattle on Gordon Dearnley's farm, less than a mile from his dairy

"It's comparable to the Normandy milk which would go into a French Brie," said Mr Lockwood.