A pair of cheesemakers have won a prestigious culinary award for their dairy delights.

Sandy and Andy Rose received two gold stars in the Great Taste Awards 2022 for the Barkham Belle, produced in Feathercot, School Road, near Reading.

Their success comes despite the pandemic reducing their company, Two Hoots Cheese, to a two-person operation.

“We’re really grateful when we get any award so it’s lovely,” said Sandy Rose, whose father was a dairy farmer in Twyford.

“We always get just as excited now as when we started really. You always know that you’re keeping the quality of your product and it’s enjoyed by all.”

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She added: “Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink world, so it really is a big win.”

The pair started as owners of a mobile farm, teaching children how to milk goats in Berkshire schools.

After using the goats milk to make cheese for themselves, they branched out.

“I wanted to try something a bit different. My Dad always milked Guernsey and Jersey cows so I wanted to try and make a blue cheese from something like what he’d been doing.”

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This led to the Barkham Blue, which won one gold star this year, but it was the Barkham Belle that stole the show.

“Although it is quite a soft and buttery cheese anyway, the recipe that we use makes it a bit unique because it’s not a brie, it’s something in between a brie and an alpine cheese.

“It’s got something different to a normal brie flavour: it’s got extra creaminess and buttery-ness, and all the flavouring. It’s ripened longer than a brie cheese.”

Judges at the Great Taste Awards didn’t disagree, describing it as “having a beautifully butter creamy centre that's a pure delight to eat” and “notes of the countryside and happy cows that lingered on the palate are a joy to have and we didn't want to stop.”

The Great Taste Awards, run by the Guild of Fine Food, uses a panel of 500 experts to accredit chefs, buyers and retailers with one, two or three-star accolades.