Food heroes: the brightest lights in 21st century dairy

Local heroes

The Maxwell family, Doddington Dairy

In 1993, brother and sister duo Neill and Margaret Ann Maxwell started making cheeses to add value to the milk they were producing on their farm in the far-flung hills of Northumberland. Seven years later, Neill and his wife Jackie decided to expand by making ice cream with the simplest local ingredients, and Doddington Dairy was born.

When they started in 1993, the Maxwells were among a handful of artisan cheesemakers using unpasteurised milk- and they still make their range of seven unique cheeses using only their own raw milk and traditional methods. “The French do it this way, and they have a word for it - terroir,” says Jackie. “It is the essence of the cattle that produce the raw milk, the grasses, the water - and the age-old skills of the cheesemaker.”

The Maxwells have continued to innovate and work closely with local producers and brands to find ingredients with provenance, such as the Newcastle Brown Ale used to rind wash their Admiral Collingwood cheese.

The family’s commitment to quality, provenance and innovation has paid off. Not only is Doddington one of the last remaining dairy farms in Northumberland, but the business has gone from strength to strength and now employs about 20 people. In recognition of its contribution to the local economy and employment, Doddington was named Best Producer at the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2015. They will not stop there, however, and the family has ambitions to build Doddington into “a quality regional dairy brand, with principles that keep people and cows in the Cheviot hills, one of Britain’s most beautiful but remote areas”, says Jackie.

Breaking moulds

Jonathan Crickmore, cheesemaker, Fen Farm Dairy

Suffolk’s Fen Farm Dairy makes the only unpasteurised brie-style cheese in the UK. The business was born in 2010, after third-generation farmer Jonathan Crickmore suffered a “particularly bad year of price decreases” and began to question his future in farming.

He found inspiration from Bronwen Percival at Neals Yard Dairy, who said no one was making brie from raw milk in the UK, and enlisted the help of French cheesemaker Ivan Larcher.

“He agreed to work with us if we changed our Holstein cows to a breed better suited for cheese. Both were French,” laughs Crickmore.

The family settled on the Monbeliarde breed and the Crickmores developed the Baron Bigod - a brie-style cheese handmade in small batches every morning using raw milk straight from the cow, which is gravity fed into vats just metres away so rennet can be added. The curds are ladled into moulds, salted and aged for up to eight weeks.

Owen Davies, category manager at Harvey & Brockless, describes Baron Bigod as “outstanding British artisan cheese” that will be on his autumn listing.

Rising star

Francis Clarke, commercial director, Trewithen Dairy

At just 30, Francis Clarke has been instrumental in the family company’s impressive growth in recent years, doubling its turnover and securing extensive new listings throughout the South West .

He managed Trewithen’s £12m Milky Way expansion project, as well as its re-brand, which began three years ago. “2014 saw our rebrand consolidated across all the products, bringing together cohesive illustration, styling and tone of voice,” he says.

“New product designs with fresh and vibrant colours, a defined and fitting personality, shelf standout and the opportunity to tell lots of stories - both on pack and via our innovative and responsive digital ‘fields’ - have been continually created.”

Leaving a legacy

Mike Hodgson and Amelia Harvey, co-founders, The Collective

It was with great sadness that The Grocer reported the passing of Mike Hodgson, the co-founder of The Collective and one of the industry’s brightest entrepreneurial stars.

Hodgson launched The Collective in the UK with fellow entrepreneur Amelia Harvey after the pair worked at Gü Puds.

After the sale of the business to Noble Foods, they came across chefs Ofer Shenhav and Angus Allan - who had launched The Collective yoghurt brand in New Zealand in 2009 and wanted to bring their products to the UK. “The yoghurt market was big and growing but seemed to be lacking innovation, quality and importantly…excitement!” recalls Harvey.

The Collective yoghurts are now stocked in over 5,000 stores across the UK and Ireland and continue to outperform expectations - the brand is due to turn over £20m this year, up from £12.5m last year and £7m the year before. Their success is down to quality, savvy marketing and continued innovation ahead of trends.

The loss of Hodgson was a huge blow, but Harvey is determined The Collective team will continue to deliver. “We always wanted to create a legacy of a brilliant sustainable brand, and a great team who can keep it going.”

P.I.M.P of the FMCG

Jimmy Cregan, founder, Jimmy’s Iced Coffee

In four years, Jimmy Cregan has won listings in Tesco and Waitrose, re-paid his debts, opened up a warehouse in Dorset, produced a Californian rap video and achieved a turnover of well over £1m. Jimmy’s story began when, on a road trip around Australia, he stumbled across a carton of iced coffee and became an addict. On returning to the UK, he found the “sweet and sickly” iced coffee on offer didn’t satisfy his addiction, so he enlisted the help of his café-owning sister Suzie and developed a recipe containing only four ingredients - milk, coffee, water and sugar. The pair sold their first iced coffee in Selfridges Foodhall in April 2011 and now have listings in supermarkets, petrol stations, convenience stores, delis and cafes across the country.

Born to churn

Mary Quicke, MD, Quickes Traditional

As the 14th generation of the Quicke family to run Home Farm at Newton St Cyres in Devon and the second generation to make cheese in the farm’s dairy, Mary Quicke was awarded an MBE for her contribution to farming and cheesemaking in 2005, and remains one of the most entrepreneurial forces in artisan dairy. Innovations over the years include the awardwinning Quicke’s Vintage Cheddar and butters made from whey cream that has been through the cheesemaking process to provide a unique nutty flavour. Exports now account for more than 25% of sales, and were up 60% in the first quarter of 2015/16. “The world is discovering the value of high quality foods that support environmentally rich farms in an identifiable place,” she says.

Mexican magic

Kristen Schnepp, founder, Gringa Dairy

Kristen Schnepp had built a successful career in marketing and business development before deciding to give it all up to chase her passion for cheese.

The daughter of a San Francisco gourmet food distributor, she noticed Mexican food was gaining popularity but few chilled dairy products were making their way over the Atlantic. After taking a few courses at the School of Artisan Food, she started building a dairy under a railway arch in Peckham. She sold her first cheese in April 2013.

Today, she produces a range of the three most common cheeses used in Mexican cooking: Queso Fresco - “like a less salty Feta”; Queso Chihuahua - “like a tangy mild Cheddar, only better melting”; and Queso Oaxaca - “like a more flavourful mozzarella”.

The organic milk Schnepp buys from a farm in Kent tastes different to that from Mexico’s corn-fed cows, but Gringa’s listings, and thriving business with Mexican restaurants, food trucks and pop-ups, are testament to the authenticity of her products.

Gringa is on target to end 2015 with a turnover of £120k- £140k and Schnepp plans to expand in the UK and Europe.

Cornish pride

Nicholas Rodda, MD Rodda’s Dairy

Nicholas Rodda has transformed his family’s 125-year-old business into a slick export machine without losing sight of its roots. The Rodda family have been making Cornish clotted cream on the same site in West Cornwall since 1890. Five generations later, and Rodda’s is still crafting its Cornish clotted cream with an “all important” golden crust. “It’s what makes Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream so different and is the defining feature that connoisseurs look for,” says Rodda. The business now produces butter, fresh milk, custard and crème fraîche and exports its Cornish clotted cream - which enjoys PDO status - to countries all over the world. The success of this strategy is evident from its impressive turnover growth over the past four years, up from £22.8m in 2010 to £33.1m in 2014.