A while back we did short a blog about Village Maid Cheese to introduce you to one of our producers, their amazing products and their back story. Featuring one of their cheeses in our monthly sub box we decided it was time to pop down and visit the dairy and meet the maker! We were lucky enough to be invited by Jake Wigmore to visit his family business based in Risely, Berkshire.

Jake has always been involved with the family cheese business to some degree, but more so in recent years.  Having met his partner Kayleigh whilst working in London, five years ago they decided to leave the bright lights behind them and head back to the village Jake had grown up to formally join the family business.  

Soon afterwards ‘Maida Vale ‘ was created, a semi soft washed rind cheese.  With a local brewery ‘Siren Craft Brewery’ just 6 miles away they had the perfect IPA to wash the rind of this cheese – ‘Soundwave’.  That year it won 2 stars in the Great Taste Awards 2018 and then again in 2019 . 2021 bought a new addition to Village Maid when Jake and Kayleigh welcomed their little daughter ‘Olive’ into the world and this summer, having had their wedding cancelled twice due to covid they hope to finally get married!

We were incredibly lucky to visit part way through the make of Heckfield and Waterloo, two of their three cows’ milk cheeses.  The strictest of hygiene precautions are taken by all cheese producers because the introduction of unwanted bacteria and other microbes can be catastrophic to their make. After a warm introduction from Jake we were supplied with sterilized boots, ‘lab coat’, cap, face mask and having washed our hands we slipped into the making room.

On one side a large vat of curd was being heated to make Heckfield whilst gently agitated. Temperature, precision, a gentle touch and experience are all key at this vital stage. To the other side, another process was being practiced in a separate tank, same milk, different cheese! ‘Curd washing’ flushes a certain amount of the lactose away leading to less bacterial activity and in this case results in the semi soft texture and buttery flavour of Waterloo. This is all hands on and hands in! The team painstakingly concentrating throughout the process looking for the subtle changes that mark the next phase of the process.

In both cases the curds are then scooped into lined moulds and left to stand whilst the whey begins to drain away.  The pressure from the top of the stacked moulds slowly release the whey with each mould being moved from bottom to top regularly.  The next day the cheese will be floated in vats of brine before being moved to their maturation room.

Heckfield is made using Guernsey milk from their 30 strong herd of cows from the Heckfield estate situated just 2 miles away from their unit in the rolling Hampshire Hills. Village Maid also produces Spenwood, Wigmore and Waterloo – a rich and decadent semi soft cheese which is featuring in our February subscription box. 

Jake’s enthusiasm and passion for his new life is clearly evident.  Covid has been hard for many producers but Village Maid are keenly looking to the future with exciting new plans ahead. Watch this space!