l A typical Budgens store carries between 20 and 30 cheeses, says senior buyer Philip Punter, although the multiple buys a range of 260 varieties because "we like to include local cheeses in our stores". The total range comprises 90 sold through the serveover and 170 prepack in the dairy case. Serveover accounts for 30% of the cheese business. If more than two customers are waiting, another staff member will be drafted in. Budgens' training manager Mike French adds: "All new staff have an induction course in their first week. Full training will be completed within 12 weeks." l Award winning Macclesfield retailer Pradeep Vaish has customers who come from all over Cheshire just to buy his cheese. He stocks more than 60 varieties of farmhouse cheese. The best sellers are predominantly territorials ­ Cheshire and Lancashire tend to dominate over Cheddars, all of which are very well represented. Despite his quiet location, word has spread rapidly ­ something, perhaps, to do with the way the cheese is sold. "Cheese is a passion of mine," says Vaish. "When customers visit the shop they are able to see, smell and taste all these fabulous cheeses." The bulk of his stock comprises handmade cheeses, which for Vaish is an important selling point: "We urge people to try the real thing." l CWS category buyer Paul Reid handles some 90 cheeses through both serveover and pre-pack. The ratio is 80:20 prepack to serveover, with up to 40 varieties on a serveover and up to 70 in a dairy case. "Training is very important and we have training officers in all our trading regions, who are responsible for implementing training in stores," he says. A typical serveover will have four staff on a weekday shift and six at weekends. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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