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Heather of Brides Up North Featured Supplier Northumberland Cheese Company is a fan of these swirly silver pages, saying: I like how there is a real sense of community between the Brides, and it is an ideal place to swap tips and lovely little companies you might have stumbled across. It is a place where people can share one of the happiest days of their lives and what can be better than that!
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Just so happens that Northumberland Cheese Company is one of those lovely companies, and I hope you enjoy stumbling upon them today. For what could be better than a wedding cake made of cheese? Make mine a Blagdon Blue!
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How and when did Northumberland Cheese Company begin?
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Northumberland Cheese Company was founded by Mark Robertson as the Redesdale Sheep Dairy in the spring of 1985 at Soppitt Farm, Esldon in Northumberland. Mark took a cheese making course and made the first cheese – a ewe’s milk cheese called Redesdale. The locals became very fond of the cheese, and as demand grew Mark expanded into other milk cheeses, including award-winning goat’s, cow’s and Jersey milk cheeses. From there the business expanded, and in 1996 we moved to the Blagdon Estate. We now have many areas of our business including our incredibly popular wedding cheese cakes which we have been making since a request from a forward thinking couple in 2007. Now the cheese cakes are flying out the granary door as fast as we can make them!
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Tell us about your cheeses and granary?
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The cheese is all made here at the small dairy in a converted 19th Century granary in Blagdon Estate, South Northumberland. The dairy is downstairs, and above the dairy is our coffee shop, the Cheese Loft Cafe. We have a range of sixteen handmade artisan cheeses, all using Northern milk from Northern cows, goats, ewes and Jersey cows! We are very particular about the provenance of our milk supplies. The milk for most of our cow’s cheeses comes from the herd at the Blagdon Estate, where our dairy is based. We are proud that we can ensure full traceability of our cheeses. Several of the cheeses have won awards, including a first prize at the Bakewell Show for our Oak Smoked, a Gold Award for both our Brinkburn goat’s cheese and Blagdon Blue, all in 2012.
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What sets your business apart from your competitors?
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We are a happy team here, and we all love what we do! We really do put our heart and passion into the company, and people can see that when they meet us, and of course taste the cheeses or indeed Ann’s homemade scones baked at the crack of dawn in the Cheese Loft Café. Many of our ingredients such as the bacon, sausages and eggs used in the Cheese Loft Café are sourced locally, as are the majority of the food goodies we sell in our shop. Old fashioned family values of supporting the local community, using top quality ingredients and generally being nice to other people is what we do best.
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Tell us about your wedding cakes?
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Our wedding cakes are towers of our handmade, artisan, Northern cheeses! They are typically three or four tiers, but we will try to make whatever tower you have in mind! The assembled cheesy tower can then be decorated however the happy couple would like it to match the colour scheme or theme. Some couples choose to have fresh flowers – lilies, orchids, edible flowers, or fresh fruit – figs, grapes, strawberries or kiwis, and a lovely bride to be who came in for her consultation was having her cheese cake decorated with delicate little origami paper flowers made by her bridesmaid. The cheese cakes can be deconstructed later in the evening and served with biscuits, chutneys, honey or fruit and maybe a glass of wine or two. The cheese cakes serve as a delicious base to create your own gorgeous cheeseboard, and are always a talking point. I think people also like the strong heritage, locality and passion that goes into Northumberland Cheeses.
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Why do you think that cheese wedding cakes have become so popular and why would you recommend one?
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I think the modern couple are looking for details that make their wedding celebration unique. The wedding cake plays an important and symbolic part of the day, and the unusual cheese wedding cake really makes a statement. I think some of us have realised we’re not that crazy about the traditional fruit cake with marzipan! For people without a sweet tooth, the cheese wedding cake makes a delicious savoury alternative served with crackers and fruit, and also adds a bit of decadence. The cake can easily be made to match the theme of the day, plus the cheese cakes are very economical, as they double up as a delicious evening course. We have seen our biggest sales to date this year of our wedding cakes.
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Can Brides Up North decide how to decorate their wedding cake? What sort of decoration would you suggest?
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Brides Up North have full reign to decorate the cake however they like, we can offer ideas and suggestions and we can also recommend some wonderful local suppliers to accompany our cheese cakes. During the consultation, the couple will meet with our wedding cake guru and discuss their requirements over some cheese samples and a cuppa. We have some great connections with the talented producers in the North. The bride and groom can take a look through our brochure of images of wedding cakes we have helped to create. I saw a cake recently that was decorated simply with a cascade of English raspberries interspersed with flecks of blueberries, very elegant.
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How far in advance should Brides Up North place their order for their wedding cake?
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The cheese is all made to order and as the cheese takes 3 months to reach maturity the order must be placed a minimum of 3 months before the big day. We have cheeseboards to hire, and we can deliver the cake to your venue so once the order is in you can relax and leave it to us and Mother Nature!
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Can you give Brides Up North an idea on price?
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Prices start from as little as £74 for a three tier undressed cake. A four tier cake starts from as little as £262. The cheese is all priced by weight.
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Can you do a discount for Brides Up North readers?
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We are offering Brides Up North the top tier (225g – 400g truckle depending on your choice of cheese) of their wedding cake absolutely free! To redeem this offer, please quote Brides Up North when booking your wedding cake consultation.
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Where are you located and where can you deliver?
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The Cheese Farm is to be found down a winding country road in rural South Northumberland, 15 minutes’ drive North of Newcastle Airport, and easily accessible from the A1. We deliver to England and Scotland free of charge.
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What else is going on at Northumberland Cheese Company – tell us about your shop and café?
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The Cheese Loft Café was redesigned in January this year by a local interior designer and to celebrate we asked our customers to name the café, which they did! We have seen our biggest sales month on month this year, and the new addition to our menu, the afternoon tea is proving to be very successful indeed.
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Who would be your dream client and why?
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Johnny Depp… because I would like to be his bride (from Heather the wedding cake guru)!
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Are there any really memorable weddings that you have supplied for?
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One couple from Newcastle had their first ever date in our coffee shop at the cheese farm. Things must have gone well as they both moved out to Singapore together. Hey ho, they came back, and the gent proposed to his lovely lady back in our coffee shop! It was after closing time, and there was soft music playing and rose petals scattered and the ring was hidden within a piece of cheese! They also had one of our wedding cakes!
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We also had one customer who had our biggest ever wedding cake with four tiers of cheese surrounded by sixteen truckles!
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How can Brides Up North find out more?
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Brides Up North can see our website, Facebook page and Pinterest board to see examples of the decorated cheese cakes. To book a free consultation, contact Heather Maddocks at heather@northumberland-cheese.co.uk or 01670 789 798.
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 supplied by Northumberland Cheese Company
Northumberland Cheese Company is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier and this is a sponsored post
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
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