From Harvey Nichols To Gleneagles - Royal Deeside Company Supplies Product To ‘Big Cheeses’

Nestled in the heart of Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, local business woman Liz Marchant along with her husband Neil and team strive to produce beautiful cheeses using traditional, hand-made methods with the highest quality, unpasteurised milk which is sourced from a local organic dairy, Glasgoforrest at Kinellar.

Liz Marchant, co-owner of The Craigmyle Cheese Company says, "My husband and I embarked on the idea of artisan cheese making as we wanted to combine something that was a passion for us both and good food and wine were top of the list. We toyed with the idea of a restaurant but finally decided on cheese making as not only do we adore cheese but our research showed us there was a gap in the market in Aberdeenshire for artisan, organic produce."

"We decided to nominate the company again this year after being shortlisted for the New Business Award at last year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. I feel that if you are at all competitive there is an element of disappointment if you don't win so we decided to try again. As a team, we have put so much physical and mental effort into the business that it would be wonderful to receive the recognition not only for ourselves and our staff but also to help stake Aberdeenshire's rightful place as an area rich in fabulous food produce."

"The Craigmyle Cheese Company is a good example of what can be achieved thorough research and planning when you combine it with sheer determination and drive. Two years of research were carried out prior to starting the business and it has proved invaluable to the development of the business."

Liz continues, "Our cheeses can be found in locally run delis and at Aberdeenshire Farmers Markets as well as establishments such as Gleneagles and Harvey Nichols. For being such a small business which has only been trading for 16 months it has been a real coup to be able to supply such reputable outlets. There are four cheeses in The Craigmyle Cheese Company range including Wee Wummle and Muckle Wummle - a mould ripened, Camembert style cheese, Morven - a springy textured waxed cheese, Clachnaben - a traditional, hard, pressed cheese and Learney, a naturally ripened cheese matured for four months. A blue cheese, Babbity Blue will be launched at The Edinburgh Speciality and Fine Food Fair in May."

"We also supply the artisan Crannach Bakery (Ballater and Aberdeen) with the whey from our cheese which they use to produce The Craigmyle soda bread, created using a traditional Irish recipe that uses buttermilk or whey to produce bread as it would have been made many years ago. To use whey as it was often used in past times is great and means there is less wastage for us. Its encouraging that our waste can go on to help create someone else's product."