27/07/2007

NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND CHEESEMAKER WINS TRIPLE GOLD AT INTERNATIONAL SHOW

A north Northumberland cheesemaker who entered the world famous Nantwich International Cheese Show this week for the first time, has staggered the dairy industry by winning three gold medals and a silver for her entries, including picking up the Sainsbury Trophy for the best new dairy product to be launched commercially in the UK in the past year.

Thirty-eight-year-old Margaret-Ann Maxwell, who runs the cheese side of the Doddington Dairy business based on the family farm near Wooler, said today she was “absolutely gobsmacked” at her success, achieved against some of the finest cheesemakers in the world. Maggie, as she is popularly known, has been making cheese for the past 17 years – commercially for 10 – and was only persuaded to enter the Nantwich International by her brother, Neill, who, with his wife, Jackie, has turned Doddington Ice Cream into one of the best-known brands in the North. But Doddington Cheese was the first dairy product to be developed at North Doddington Farm. Neill and Maggie spent time learning their craft from cheesemakers in the Netherlands, France and on various courses in the UK. Maggie, who graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Food Marketing, also spent two years learning about cheese in Glasgow where she was head buyer for a well-known cheese shop. All the Doddington cheeses are made from unpasteurised, or raw, milk and it is one of Maggie’s latest cheeses, named after North East hero Admiral Collingwood, that carried off the top prize at Nantwich for the best new dairy product of the year. Admiral Collingwood , which was launched in June this year together with another of Maggie’s creation, The Baltic, is one of the region’s first semi-soft cheeses. It is full flavoured with a complex aroma and given a distinctive edge from being washed in Newcastle Brown Ale, according to its maker. Both the new cheeses take up to four months to mature and from six weeks onwards are washed every two weeks in ale, Newcastle Brown in the case of Admiral Collingwood, and Baltic Summer Ale from Liverpool for the other cheese. Maggie is thrilled at the success of her two new products which took her three years to perfect, but she is equally delighted at the recognition achieved by Doddington’s other, longer-established brands, which she showed in competition for the very first time. “I always seemed too busy at the dairy to get round to entering these contests, but I’m so pleased Neill managed to persuade to make time for Nantwich. It is probably the most prestigious cheese event in the world. If I had got an award of some sort I would have been happy, but to win three golds and a silver at my first attempt is unbelievable,” said Maggie. The two other golds were for Doddington Cheese, which was adjudged best in the single speciality, hard-pressed category, and Cuddy’s Cave, which won the small producers’ hard cheese section. The smoked version of Cuddy’s Cave also won a silver. Maggie who was yesterday (Friday) attending the annual Border Union Show at Kelso with a stand of her award-winning cheeses, is still coming down to earth after her Nantwich triumph. Doddington Dairy Limited has been a member of Northumbria Larder, which leads the North East Regional Food Group, since its earliest days. Last night Sandy Duncan, general manager, said: “What Maggie Maxwell has achieved is almost unheard of in the dairy industry. It is a great tribute to her dedication and hard work over the years and a terrific boost for other food producers in the region.”

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