How to maximise cheese sales this Christmas

HOW DOES RETAILING CHEESE DIFFER IN THE RUN UP TO CHRISTMAS COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Christmas is a special time of year when selling cheese. We are thinking about Christmas in the summer, pulling all our plans together and building momentum into the autumn. Some of our customers make a yearly pilgrimage to Neal’s Yard Dairy to get their Christmas cheeseboard. They might queue for 10 minutes, eat a bit of cheese whilst they are waiting and then spend some time with a cheesemonger on the slate, selecting their cheeseboard, ideally by tasting with their cheesemonger who will recommend the best of the selection that day. The batches of cheese on the slate change rapidly in the week running up to Christmas as we sell through vast volumes. The atmosphere in the shops is wonderfully festive, it’s an exciting time of year.

WHAT CHEESES WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR A CHRISTMAS CHEESEBOARD?
The nice thing about buying cheese in a shop, is that you can choose your cheeseboard based on what is tasting good that day. A classic selection is always a popular choice and would comprise of a Stilton style, Montgomery’s Cheddar, a soft bloomy rinded cheese, such as Tunworth or Baron Bigod and perhaps a chunk of Kirkham’s Lancashire. It is a good idea to try and strike a balance across strength, texture and style. A good flavourful cheddar, the light buttery crumble of a Lancashire and an unctuous Blue will generally please a crowd. Lancashire goes particularly well with fruit cake as well. Our advice at Christmas is usually to select a few larger pieces of cheese rather than lots of smaller bits, as they tend to keep better and can be brought out for multiple occasions throughout the festive period. Our e-commerce team have chosen a traditional Christmas selection this year, which includes Colston Bassett Stilton, a Tunworth, Lincolnshire Poacher, a Dorstone, Rosebud Red Onion Marmalade, Thick and Thin Orkney Oatcakes. It’s just right for a family of four to eat over a few days.

WHAT ABOUT ACCESSORIES?
We have recently released some cheeseboards, knives and tea-towels which we created to mark our 40th birthday. The boards were made from old Stilton shelves from the Colston Bassett Dairy and the knives were specially made for us in collaboration with Blenheim Forge.

DO YOU PUT TOGETHER GIFT SETS OR HAMPERS FOR CHRISTMAS? WHAT SORTS OF ACCOMPANIMENTS WORK WELL?
For a festive get-together, our online selection this year, the ‘Christmas Feast’, will include Hafod, Appleby’s Cheshire, Colston Bassett Stilton, Baron Bigod, a Biscuit Selection and Rosebud Spiced Plum Chutney. It amounts to approximately 2.5kgs of cheese. We have a wide range of chutneys to choose from and fruit pastes made by England Preserves, a company based near us in Bermondsey, who make delicious preserves. These pair nicely with most cheese as the sweetness cuts through the cheese and acts as a good palate cleanser.