In the storeroom at Sparkenhoe Farm in Upton near Market Bosworth sits several tonnes of Red Leicester cheese on beechwood shelves. This is authentic Red Leicester, made to a traditional recipe, not the smooth, tasteless variety you find in supermarkets packed in plastic. The cylinders of cheese are left for up to eight months to mature at 12 ̊C.
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company was set up by Jo and David Clarke in 2003. Their 150-strong herd of pedigree Holstein-Friesians supply the raw milk that makes delicious Sparkenhoe Red Leicester and their other superb varieties such as Battlefield Blue (a soft blue-veined cheese) and Bosworth Field (a semi-soft crumbly white). This is traditionally-made farmhouse cheese at its best.
Sparkenhoe Farm is also now home to a cheese shop and tea room (with outdoor seating).
Picture credit: Andrew Brackenbury
