Who am I to diss a Brie. We serve the good stuff. Always. And our Cheese is no exception. I recently took a trip to see the guys at Harvey and Brockless, and get a glimpse of just why they are our only choice, when it comes to all things Cheesey. These guys know their stuff. As well as stocking an extensive range of some of the best artisan Cheese producers across the UK and Europe, they also produce their own at Broomhall Farm in Worcester. Their current range includes Worcester White, Snodsbury and Double Worcester as well as a Peach favourite, Goats Curd, which is made from unpasteurised goats milk from the Barter family herd.
I began my trip catching up with the lovely Iain, who ran through the recent rebranding of Harvey and Brockless, and each sub division. Along with cheese, they provide artisan sauces, charcuterie, antipasti, flours, and chocolate – Valrhona to be exact. He also explained the partnerships they have with producers, being able to invest in some of the best small dairy’s and enable them to increase production, and share their creations with the wider market.
Under strict orders to bring home some goodies for the marketing team, we began a tour of the warehouse (Iain kindly lent me a coat, as my linen shirt was not quite up to the 5 degree temperatures!). With an obvious passion for high quality cheeses, he talked me through the walls and walls of delights on offer, and explained the whole warehouse has a turnover of just 7 days, I couldn’t believe that much cheese passed through that quickly!
Having acquired a hand picked selection to return with, we moved on to the chocolate fridge, mmmm! A huge amount of Valrhona’s finest, used by Michelin Star restaurants worldwide (and Peach of course!)
Exiting the warehouse back into the warmth (for 5 minutes anyway!) we walked across the farm to the dairy. After donning very attractive shoe covers, a matching blue hair net, and completing a rigorous hand washing routine, we entered the production room. We were greeted by a fabulous display of rows and rows of Worcester White, all meticulously labelled and arranged, maturing slowly to give optimum taste and texture – a beautiful sight for any Cheese lover!
Leaving the production room spelled the end of my time at Harvey and Brockless, a great day out, a great partner of Peach – always providing the good stuff for us to serve.