Westcombe Dairy tour

Last month, whilst the family were over from Norway for two weeks we were lucky enough to get a tour round Westcombe Dairy from Tom Calver. Having missed the dairy tours at their Cheese and Beer Festival earlier in the summer I was delighted to look around the home of my favourite cheese.

Tom trained as chef before coming home to run the family business. His passion for "maximising the natural qualities of the farms raw milk" certainly go along way to explaining the fantastic growth of this Somerset dairy and cheese maker.

Taking time out from his busy day Tom talked us through the process and, most interestingly, the science behind it, plus the techniques they utilise to influence the flavour of their cheeses. As well as the cheddar, Westcombe also make Duckett's Aged Caerfilly and ricotta from the previously wasted whey. What started as a way to use the waste is now an ever growing part of the business with the dairy now supplying Jamie Oliver's restaurants with ricotta.

If you get a chance to take a tour around the dairy I would highly recommend it - Tom has a gift for explaining what he does with passion and clarity, something which is particularly impressive given the scientific nature of the process and his obvious attention to detail. Exciting plans are also afoot to increase and improve their cheese store so by next summers cheese and beer festival there should be even more to see at this lovely Somerset dairy.

The dairy also hosts The Wild Beer Co who are similarly using interesting and unusual flavours and cultures to influence their beers (The Evolver IPA is a particularly interesting beer utilising the brettanomyces yeast, considered an impostor by many brewers and wine makers. It evolves over time so they recommend you buy one bottle to drink straight away and another to leave and change in flavour as the yeast matures).

In the shop (of course) we bought Cheddar and Fresh Beer for the evening (which lives up to its name and comes with instructions to drink it immediately!). Quite honestly even if you cant take a tour, the drive to Westcombe through beautiful west country scenery is enough to warrant a trip, just to pick up some cheese and a beer to enjoy in the garden before summer ends.