Introducing The Monarch – a Cheese Fit for a King!

Unless it’s escaped your attention – and we’re not sure how it could – but it’s the Coronation of King Charles in two week’s time.

Before we go any further, we know that not everyone is quite as excited by this but we have more than a little fondness for our Royal Family and are looking forward to the event – when it comes to pomp and ceremony, we think that there’s nobody better at it than us Brits!

Along with having our own little Coronation celebration here at Park House Farm, we’ve also been busy creating a new cheese to mark the occasion, and are delighted to introduce ‘The Monarch’.

It has been a little while since we last made a blue cheese, and have had many requests for one over recent months, so at the start of the year we decided to commit to a special one-off making.

“We used to make Torpenhow Blue, a classic crumbly British blue cheese which was always a popular choice amongst our customers.” explains Mark Lee, farmer and cheesemaker at the Torpenhow Farmhouse Dairy.

“None of us are still quite sure why we stopped making it, as we all loved it and – I know I’m biased – it was absolutely delicious, especially with a dark beer or a nice glass of your favourite red.”

“Obviously making a blue cheese brings extra considerations so as not to contaminate the other cheeses, either during the make or whilst in storage, plus it does take a little longer to mature but, like all good things, the extra time and effort is well worth it.”

“Given the maturation time involved, we could see that it would be ready to enjoy around April or May, so we decided to crown our blue cheese in honour of the King, and so The Monarch was created.”

Like all our cheese, The Monarch is made here in the dairy at Park House Farm using the lovely organic milk from our single herd of Jersey-Friesian-Norwegian Red cows, and in early February the composition of the milk was just about perfect for the cheese we had in mind.

We’ve used a Roquefort culture which helps produce distinctively sharp, piquant flavour which juxtaposes beautifully with the soft, creamy and crumbly body of the cheese.

“I’d like to think we’ve timed this perfectly in terms of being at it’s best around the time of the Coronation – blue cheese can be quite fickle but, from each of the tastings we’ve done so far, we’re nothing short of delighted with how it’s developed.”

And do we think our new King would approve?

“The King’s personal views and his work with farming, the environment and biodiversity are well documented, and we’d like to think he’d approve of what we’re doing here at Park House Farm.”

“Should he care to pop-in when he’s next visiting Cumbria then there will always be a warm welcome here at the farm; we just can’t guarantee there will be any of The Monarch left for him to sample!”

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The Monarch is a limited edition blue cheese from Torpenhow Farmhouse Dairy, and is available to buy from the following local stockists whilst stocks last:

Keswick Cheese & Deli
Cranstons, Penrith
Cranstons, Orton Grange
Cartmel Cheeses
Pioneer Foodstore, Carlisle
Shills of Cockermouth
Tebay North
Tebay South
Low Sizergh Barn