Cropwell Bishop Creamery & Cheesemaker’s Shop

About

Cropwell Bishop Creamery has been crafting mouth-wateringly delicious Stilton for more than three generations. Using traditional methods passed down by their grandfather and fathers, cousins Robin and Ben Skailes now produce a range of world-famous, award-winning blue cheese from their creamery in the village of Cropwell Bishop. As well as their renowned classic Blue Stilton and Blue Shropshire cheese, they have also developed Beauvale - a very popular soft, mild blue cheese flying out of the door!

The creamery sources all its milk from small, family-run dairy farms in the nearby Peak District, where cows graze on the area’s lush grass to produce the perfect milk for making cheese. In the creamery, the experienced artisan cheese-makers still use age-old methods to make their fine cheese; hand-ladling the curds from the whey before individually smoothing, turning and grading each cheese by hand.

The string of awards won by Cropwell Bishop Creamery over the years is proof their traditional production methods really do make a superior cheese. In 2018, Cropwell Bishop Creamery cheeses achieved no less than 33 awards, culminating in Beauvale winning Best British Product of the Year in the Great British Food Awards, beating the winners of 24 other categories. This success follows those enjoyed by Cropwell Bishop Creamery’s other award-winning cheeses. In 2017, Cropwell Bishop Blue Shropshire won a Gold medal at the British Cheese awards, having been crowned Supreme Champion at the same awards the previous year. The Creamery’s flagship Blue Stilton has been a consistent winner over the years in national and international competitions, also becoming a Supreme Champion when beating 750 other cheeses at the Great Yorkshire Show in 2016. Another highlight for the business has been both Cropwell Bishop Blue Stilton and Beauvale achieving the coveted 3-star award in the Great Taste Awards, the ultimate stamp of approval from the foodie world. Cropwell Bishop Creamery’s cheese is stocked in some of the UK’s finest retailers, including Fortnum & Mason and Harrods as well as in Waitrose and M&S supermarkets. Cheese can also be bought online or via local and national stockists. See the Creamery’s website for details.

The Cheesemaker’s Shop at Cropwell Bishop Creamery offers the full range of Cropwell Bishop cheese as well as carefully selected crackers, biscuits, chutneys and gifts. It sells freshly ground coffee made with milk from the creamery along with sandwiches, toasties and their now-famous vegetarian Scotch eggs, made with Cropwell Bishop cheddar or Stilton and local free-range eggs. The shop also takes delivery of locally-produced pork pies, pastries and bread on selected days.