In Search of the Perfect Cheese

Available for over a year

Martin Gott is a cheesemaker and farmer. He’s intrigued by the microbes that give raw milk and raw milk cheeses their distinct characteristics. It’s a fascination that now defines the way he and his partner Nicola Robinson manage their dairy farm and that’s taken him on a road trip across the United States visiting artisan cheesemakers including a Benedictine nun who’s also a Doctor of Microbiology and makes a cheese called Bethlehem. Caz Graham visits Martin and Nicola on their south Cumbrian farm where they keep a flock of 350 sheep to produce the milk for their raw milk sheep’s cheese, St James. She hears how they’re striving for more microbial excellence in the milk from their newly acquired herd of 300 goats which is being made into their new Holbrook cheese. Caz tastes for herself how a slightly different balance of microbes on consecutive days of the week give a distinct nuance to the flavour and texture of each individual cheese.