East Coast Press Release, 11/12/12
MORE CHEESE PLEASE, BUT MAKE IT BRITISH
East Coast introduces cheeses from the UK as part of its new winter menu
Train operator East Coast has unveiled its new winter menu including a wide selection of cheeses all from British suppliers.
The cheese, which is served as part of the evening meal menu in First Class on selected train services from London, has been sourced through cheese wholesaler Longmans from suppliers across the UK to provide customers with a wide and varied taste of this dairy delight.
The cheese selection, which rotates on a weekly basis to offer First Class passengers fresh and interesting flavours with their evening meal, makes use of the unique flavours developed by different cheese manufacturer throughout the country, whilst supporting British business at the same time.
The British cheeses featured in the evening meal menu include:
• Dorset red smoked Cheddar: West Country traditional farmhouse smoked red Leicester, made by Ford Farm on the Ashley Chase Estate in Dorset;
• Cranbourne cheese: Soft cheese, similar in shape to Camembert, with a subtle and creamy texture, made by Chalk Valley Cheese in Dorset;
• Whitefriars Cheshire cheese: A traditional Cheshire recipe, using Cheshire milk from local farm, made by Reece’s Creamery in Cheshire;
• Shropshire Blue: A blue veined cheese with an amber hue, soft textured and with complex flavours with spicy notes, made by Tuxford & Tebbutt in Leicestershire;
• Vale of Camelot matured Cheddar: West Country farmhouse Cheddar, a legendary flavour, wielded from a time honoured tradition, made by WH Longman and Sons in Somerset;
• Dorset White: A soft cheese made using unpasteurized cow’s milk and traditional rennet, made by Chalk Valley Cheese in Dorset;
• Lincolnshire Poacher cheese: Traditional Cheddar, matured for 14-24 months and although the taste varies with the seasons it usually has a distinctive fruity, nutty taste with a clean sweet finish, made by F.W Read & Sons in Lincolshire;
• Garstang Blue: Soft rind on blue, made from pasteurised cows’ milk and is a wonderful combination of a smooth creamy cheese with a mild yet indulgent blue taste that will tantalise any cheese lover’s senses, made by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Lancashire.
East Coast Commercial and Customer Service Director Peter Williams said: “We are really proud to support the cheese industry within the UK by using only the finest produce from British suppliers as part of our new winter First Class complimentary menus.
“The cheese platter, one of the choices available on our evening meal menu, offers a rotation of different cheeses each week to keep the menu fresh with interesting flavours for our customers to enjoy as they unwind on-board our trains.
“We have used British and local produce at its seasonal best where possible within our First Class complimentary menus and hope that our customers enjoy the new dishes we have introduced.”
British Cheese Board Secretary Nigel White said: "The BCB welcomes the move by East Coast Trains to serve a selection of British cheeses as part of their dinner menu for first-class passengers. With over 700 named cheeses to choose from, there is no shortage of choice. British cheeses are now being recognised as amongst the best in the world and with British consumers eager to support local food producers I am sure that East Coast Trains' customers will also welcome this move."
The evening meal, available on selected trains from London King’s Cross, offers a choice of dishes including winter beef casserole served with tagliatelle pasta and broccoli, breast of corn-fed free-range chicken in lemon jus barley risotto and sugar snap peas, marmalade gammon ham with marmalade jus served with creamy sliced potatoes and green cabbage, and fillet of sea bass with caper and lemon butter with new potatoes and broccoli.
Beef lasagne served with mixed leaf salad and balsamic dressing, fish and chips with tartar sauce, Cumberland sausage and mash and a jacket potato with three-bean chilli are newly introduced options available from the all-day and evening menus.
In addition, a new range of pies and tarts have been included with a British steak and stout pie served with creamy mashed potato, Brie and redcurrant tart, Goats cheese, beetroot and horseradish tart and Long Clawson Stilton and creamy sliced potato tart all served with a mixed leaf salad and balsamic dressing.
Some other examples of the new dishes introduced include spiced fruit compote and salmon fishcakes with parsley sauce, served with a free-range cheese omelette from the breakfast or mid-morning menus.
In addition, there will be a new range of sandwiches and snacks throughout the mid-morning, all-day, evening and weekend menus.
For details on the new menus and the train services on which they are offered, visit
http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/on-board-our-trains.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Please see below details of the cheeses and their provenance.
• Dorset red smoked Cheddar (v):
Made by Ford Farm, located on the Ashley Chase Estate, is idyllically situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty between the rolling Dorset Downs and the Jurassic Coast - an international world heritage site. The distinctive Dorset Red is a smoked cheese made exclusively from rich, creamy milk sourced from cows which graze the lush pastures of the West Dorset Estate. Dorset Red has an enticing amber coloured body and is encased in a rich red rind which gradually develops as it smokes over natural oak chippings at a local smokery. The texture of Dorset Red is smooth and velvety, subtly infused with tones of smoked oak. This is a vegetarian cheese.
• Cranbourne cheese:
James McCall, Alison French & Sue James are makers of hand-made Artisan Cheese, from Cranborne in Dorset. James McCall earned his stripes working for cheese pioneer James Aldridge for 17 years, from the late 80’s onwards. He has also been a cheese maker for Daylesford Organic in Gloucestershire too. More recently, he worked for 3 years at Cranborne Chase Cheese in Dorset, until its closure in 2011. This is where Alison French had been a Cheese maker since 2004, and after a couple of months working independently, joined forces with James and local businesswoman Sue James to form the new cheese venture – Chalke Valley Cheese. Cranborne is made using unpasteurised cow’s milk and traditional rennet and is a soft white mould-ripened cheese. Similar in shape to Camembert, with a subtle and creamy texture.
• Whitefriars Cheshire cheese (v):
Whitefriars is handmade by Reece's Creamery which was founded in 1886 by Samuel & Frank Reece. Situated in the lush pastures of south Cheshire near the quaint and picturesque village of Malpas, the creamery produces a wide variety of delicious, quality territorial cheeses including award winning Cheshire, Caerphilly, Lancashire and Wensleydale. Made to Reece’s creamery traditional Cheshire recipe, using Cheshire milk from local farms, the curd gets hand-filled in a traditional manner into round moulds before it is cloth bound and matured for 3 months, to develop the distinctive rind, tangy flavour and creamy body. This is a vegetarian cheese.
• Shropshire Blue (v):
The cheese is made exclusively in the East Midlands by only three of the Stilton dairies including Tuxford & Tebbutt in Leicestershire. Shropshire Blue is a blue veined cheese with an amber hue, soft textured and with complex flavours with spicy notes. The amber colour comes from the addition of annatto, a natural food colouring. The cheese matures for a period of 10-12 weeks and is made in a similar way to Stilton. Shropshire Blue has never been made in Shropshire but started out as a Scottish attempt to replicate Stilton cheese but with a subtle twist of adding annatto to the milk. This is a vegetarian cheese.
• Vale of Camelot matured Cheddar (v):
The Longman family have been farmers and farmhouse cheesemakers in Somerset for over 100 years. In the 1930's William Longman, expanded the family business whilst ensuring that none of the traditional methods of cheesemaking were lost. Their cows graze the rich fertile pastures of Somerset with all the milk used in producing their own cheese. This provides the consistency needed to produce the very best quality Farmhouse Cheddar, full of character with a fine balance of strength and depth of flavour, and just a hint of the fresh tang reminiscent of the Somerset Levels. This specially selected extra-mature Cheddar which recently won Gold for Best West Country PDO Farmhouse cheese is matured for a little longer to deliver a tasty, mature cheddar with a robust but rounded flavour that is definitely worth the wait.
• Dorset White:
Alison French formerly the cheese maker at Cranborne Chase Cheese has started a new cheese venture – Chalke Valley Cheese, which makes Dorset White. Dorset White is made using unpasteurized cow’s milk and traditional rennet and is a soft white mould-ripened cheese in a small log shape.
• Lincolnshire Poacher cheese:
Simon and Tim Jones, produce award-winning handmade Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese on their dairy farm, F.W Read & Sons Ltd, situated on the eastern edge of the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds. The use of freshly produced unpasteurised milk from their own dairy herd which graze on the rolling hills of the farm is the basis for the distinctive characteristics of the cheese.
The cheese is made a little bit like traditional West Country Cheddar though there are several key differences in the recipe that gives Lincolnshire Poacher its own unique flavour and texture. It is matured for 14-24 months and although the taste varies with the seasons it usually has a distinctive fruity, nutty taste with a clean sweet finish.
• Garstang Blue (v):
Made by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Lancashire, Garstang Blue uses Dewlay's dedicated milk supply sourced locally from farmers. Garstang Blue is made from pasteurised cows’ milk and is a wonderful combination of a smooth creamy cheese with a mild yet indulgent blue taste that will tantalise any cheese lover’s senses. Made in much the same way as their Creamy Lancashire, they add a specially designed blue mould during cheese making. Once made, Garstang Blue is matured carefully in dedicated maturing rooms where the ideal conditions exist to allow the mould to develop within the cheese. After approximately 6 weeks, the cheese is spiked, allowing the mould to develop into streaks as it grows through the cheese. This is a vegetarian cheese.
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