“Cheshire days…”

40 years ago it was so different and amateurish, with only lines of trestle tables in an unrefrigerated tent, groaning under the weight of huge traditional and block cheeses. As for the hospitality, in those days it was shared between four major local makers and distributors, and since it was by invitation only the senior or well-connected people mattered.

Today, the world’s largest cheese show dominates the UK cheese competition calendar with well over 4,500 entries. But more than that, the whole setting has evolved into a world class feature, worth travelling nationally and internationally to. Chilled facility, walkways, world class stands, entertainment including the likes of James Martin, and at its heart the influential competition, with maker and retailer classes fully supported, and the open opportunity to join the social events no matter how commercially big you are.

But beyond the panorama of the show, so much has changed under the expanding roof of this huge show.

For the grandees who have walked these formerly dust-clouded or mud-caked walkways, the rise and fall of the dairy trade and its retail partners has always been the main topic of discussion. If it was good, we quietly understated it, and if not, we berated matters loudly. Usually at these times, there was one outstanding issue common to all on which we could focus. How times have changed.

Right now we have an unbalanced dairy trade, where the farmers in the security of retailer partnerships can still achieve 30p, but those not aligned can be at 18p and – it has been said – some at 11p. This cannot be right no matter how fond retailers are of selling milk at crazy low prices. We all know sales do not increase significantly and everyone in the chain loses, and this drags cheesemaking into the same forum.

The shopper has, and is, changing as the legacy of the last years goes to the future. The rise of the savvy shopper, a drive to less waste, and still the consumer remains aspirational through all this. As the financial strictures ease, the move to premium and different is alive and well. The question is, how will it be accommodated for the shopper, independent or premium retailer?

With all that swirling around the event, it’s important to recall that the real centrepiece of the show is the competition to find the best cheese in the UK and the world.

The retailer class is now keenly fought over, and following several years of M&S domination, that crown was wrested away from them by Waitrose in 2014, with Morrisons hard on their heels. I suspect this will be a full-on fight in 2015.

Elsewhere, the chance to be Supreme Champion, Reserve or Continental Champion, as well as winner of a host of other classic awards, is keenly contested. The judging panel here is simply the best in the world. Not because it’s full of cheese experts, but because it embraces a series of judging skills that allow the voice of not just the profession but also the consumer to be represented. But whether is a classic British Cheddar, Blue Stilton, Parmesan or Dutch goats cheese, the show will always deliver the best, and never be afraid to show it is truly international.

So all that’s wanted is fair weather, and we shall have another glorious day to add to the long history of magical days at Nantwich. This poses the question of how this huge event must continue to change and reflect the evolving dairy trade, its split between the greatest and the smallest, and who will be represented and what their objectives must be for the future.

A show like Nantwich is a reflection of the health of the dairy nation, but it has frequently been used as an opportunity to see and be seen. That too must come under some change as the trade advances and the market sectors change, and there is enough to be discussed on this subject alone. This annual celebration of cheese has something for everyone, and all must work to make it so – in Cheshire days and Cheshire ways!