Cheese Slices (2013 - 2017)

The Poitou region is the original home of many of the famous goat cheeses of France and for this episode of Cheese Slices, Will Studd journeys to the village of Sainte Maure de Touraine to attend the annual Goats Cheese fair. In the Judge’s Hall he finds out what to look for in a perfect chevre, as well as witnessing an unusual inthronisation ceremony. After visiting a typical goat dairy and a battlefield near Poitiers which changed the course of French history, Will tours the largest goat cheese dairy in France. There he explains the difference between St Maure, the most popular goat cheese in France today, and its ancestor Sainte Maure de Touraine

Parmigiano Reggiano is the undisputed king of Italian cheese and is still made by hand the old fashioned way in giant copper cauldrons. Will Studd explains the extraordinary steps taken to control production of this wonderful cheese, and witnesses its birth, a process that is nothing short of magical. Filmed in the beautiful countryside near Parma in Reggio Emilia, Will meets the Biemme family who have been making benchmark cheese for four generations, and visits the farm and maturation rooms to see how this cheese is matured by robots before being graded by a stagionatura. Then it’s off to investigate the thousand year old Grana Padano and learn why it’s different to its famous cousin, as well as the correct definition of parmesan.

Pecorino is one of the most ancient of all European cheeses, and in this episode Will Studd explains the different types before travelling to Tuscany to visit the ‘Il Forteto’ dairy. Formed by a group of social reformers in the 70's, this cooperative has since grown to become one of the largest producers of Pecorino Toscano DOP. After ‘Il Forteto’ it’s off to the town of Bra in Piedmont where ‘Slow Food’ hold the world largest specialist cheese festival every two years, on this occasion they are celebrating traditional shepherd’s cheeses. We learn why raw milk cheese is crucial to ‘Slow Food’ and the importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations.

Camembert is a potent symbol of French cheese making and is copied all over the world. If you want the real thing, look no further than traditional Normandy Camembert which is made under strict AOC rules from unpasteurised milk. Will Studd visits the tiny village of Camembert where it all began, and the nearby dairy of Monsieur Durand who is now the last ‘fermier’ or farmhouse producer in the region. Then it’s off to the beaches of Normandy and the Cooperative of Isigny St Mere, one of the most respected producers of traditional AOC Camembert in France. Will explains the important difference between camembert and its ancient cousin brie and pops into the cheese shop of Monsieur Roland Barthlemy in Paris, a famous affineur who supplies the Elysee Palace.

The world’s most copied cheese is Cheddar which originally came from the green countryside of Somerset in England. In this episode, Will Studd travels to meet the last two farm producers of cloth bound cheddar in the county that still make cheese from raw milk by hand. How it is made, and the all important cheddaring process is explained, before we visit a local cider maker and the famous gorge and caves of Cheddar. Then it’s time to cut and grade the cheese with Randolph Hodgson of Neals Yard Dairy fame at London’s Borough Market.