Meet ICR 2023’s customer care champion: Ashburton Delicatessen

Located in the bustling town of Ashburton on the edge of beautiful Dartmoor, Ashburton Deli is owned and run by trained chef Robin Hudson with help from his mother Sue and an enthusiastic and knowledgeable team.

The deli carries a large selection of cheeses – currently 55 but more in the summer months and at Christmas. Owner Robin tells Inspirational Cheese Retailers, “We like to showcase as many local and regional cheeses as we can, as well as an excellent choice of Continental cheeses – the very best quality of the ones we choose to sell.”

A helpful team
The team prides itself on being able to help customers select the best cheese for their needs. “We carefully source and taste them all and have excellent help and advice from the six cheese suppliers we use. Our customers travel a long way to be able to choose the very best cheeses for their party cheeseboards, wedding cheese towers and even just a small selection of the best to enjoy at home for themselves”, Robin explains.

Of course, a big part of this is sampling and having the knowledge to offer pairing advice. “We have a wonderful chef Andy who heads up the in-house cooking, aided by his wife Emma, an experienced patisserie chef, plus all the rest of the team who help customers in the shop and with the cooking if required.

“We and the team love the shop being busy and helping people with suggestions for cheeses they may not have tried before, and cooking advice. We have boards out every day with tasters to tempt them and always offer tastings of anything in the counter to help them with their choice. Customer care and service are vital to the ethos of our shop,” says Robin.

Despite challenges, Robin and his team have kept a positive attitude, and 2022 has been another very busy and successful year. “We are delighted to find that many of the new customers we acquired during the lockdowns have kept returning and we are thrilled by their loyalty. Once again, we won a very prestigious Gold from Taste of the West in the Best Retailer category, which is always a thrill as the award covers such a large area.”

Find out more about Robin and his team by reading their profile in the latest issue of Inspirational Cheese Retailers.