Inspirational Cheese Retailers: The Cheese Shop, Bradford Upon Avon

The Cheese Shop
Location: Bradford on Avon
Founder: Christophe Bonneau
Founded: 2015

Enjoying and sharing food is part and parcel of life when you grow up in France, says Christophe Bonneau, who today shares his enthusiasm and passion for fine food and drink at The Cheese Shop in Bradford on Avon – celebrating a decade in business this year.

From a career in hotels and catering, working in Michelin restaurants, he bought his first shop in 2006, before selling it on and investing in his new retail home.

What attracted Christophe to Bradford on Avon was the fact there wasn’t anything similar to what he wanted to create in the area. “I thought there was the opportunity to be a little bit more specialist here. Instead of being a deli first, I wanted to be a cheese shop first. To make a point of it.” The concept’s been very well received by locals and tourists alike. “We are small, but we offer very good quality,” he says. Cheese comes first, of course, complemented by the best products to go alongside it, from chutneys to biscuits and wine.

Keeping it traditional

The Cheese Shop’s offering is wide-ranging, Christophe says, focusing primarily on British cheeses, before diving into the continental classics through the seasons, from wheels of Gruyère, to wedges of Emmental, and Brie de Meaux. “These, we have to stock, but the main structure of the counter is British,” he explains. “And I always try to bring in local cheeses because we’re quite a tourist town. People like to take something back with them if they are on holiday here. For us, a main one is the Bath Soft Cheese Company, and also the various Cheddars from around here.”

British cheeses, he says, have come on a long way in the last 20 years. “I’ve seen them slowly getting better and taking off. They’re definitely becoming more and more popular.”

The experience of visiting The Cheese Shop is incredibly individual, he continues. “I’m a one-man-band. When people come in, they just see me. I can only serve one person at a time,so others have to usually browse and wait their turn, but they don’t seem to mind that at all. Running this on my own, it’s very personal service.”

A friendly face

Being at the helm of the shop every day means Christophe has come to know his regular customers well, building a strong rapport with them. While the key demographic is retirees, he says he enjoys seeing a younger audience of cheese buyers towards the end of the week too. “We have a lot of families come in then. Everyone has busy lives now. People find it difficult to shop during the week, so we tend to see younger people at the weekends and also for lunch. I do a takeaway lunch every day, baking quiches, making a few salads, I’ve got bread all the time so I can make them a cheese and chutney baguette.”

Giving customers an additional reason to visit (ie feeding them on the spot) is a great way, Christophe thinks, to expose them to the cheeses he sells. While they might not buy at the time, the exposure to artisan cheeses while they’re buying a salad or sandwich plants a seed in their mind, so they know exactly where to go should the desire to conjure up a cheeseboard or seek out a really good cheese for after dinner strikes them.

What the cheesemonger loves best about his job is it’s something he’s created himself. “I enjoy what I do, really.” It’s not a pretentious shop, he adds. “And I think it’s well priced compared to some places. There’s something for everyone, from eggs to a little baguette. It doesn’t break the bank. That’s why, I think, I’m busy. People don’t feel too intimidated coming here. It’s welcoming and it’s more of an experience than a supermarket. I think it’s the right price, for the right place.”