A Cheesemonger's Compendium of British & Irish Cheese

This is engagingly written and well laid out. I liked the illustrations which are accurate but more enticing and less clinical than photographs. I found the descriptions to be accurate in the ten or so cheeses which I have tried so far.Given that this book is encyclopaedic in nature I felt that a bit more technical data might have been useful. e.g. Is there a hardness scale for cheese at a specific temperature - maybe someone should invent one? How long can this be kept in/out of the fridge?And while not necessarily the author's "fault", maybe he could have added value by giving pairing suggestions for at least some of the cheeses. These could be anything from accompaniments (dates/strawberries/poached pears) to wines (well matched sweet or fortified wines would grab my attention).It would also be helpful to have a chapter on where one can find these products.The "problem" with many English cheeses is that - gross generalisation - they are "copies" of French cheeses, and within that, the makers have still gone fairly mainstream "middle of the road". The author does a good job of weaving the product story but I feel that there is more work needed (either by the author or the makers themselves) to create sufficient magic around the "brands".

Do you seek out local produce when you visit an area? Then this is the book for you! Each cheese has a page to describe it and give a little back story about the how the cheese came to be made and the cheesemakers who makes it. The cheeses are grouped by type of cheese and there are 2 indexes: 1 of cheeses and 1 of cheesemakers. This is useful to compare the range of cheese a maker has.Need explains how he likes to chat to producers at farmers' markets to hear their stories but that there is often a queue. So the book fills the gap and in a chatty, informative.As there are many more British cheeses to be sampled, hopefully Ned will produce book 2 to continue the good work

the book has no photos, just very awkward paintings of cheeses. the descriptions are boring. one does not get a good impression about the wonderful different cheeses of our country. cannot recommend.

I purchased this as a gift for a cheese lover. Did have a little look through it and it seems very nicely laid out with plenty of info.

We bought this as a Christmas present and once unwrapped the person who received it found it hard to put down. She is now planning a trip around Britain to visit as many of the places mentioned as she can get too.