Although the article seems to suggest the French might be upset, there's no reason to think anyone wouldn't appreciate a great cheese regardless of where it's produced. I always try to make my pilgrimage to Neil's Yard in London to pick up some British (and Irish) cheese, which can be excellent. Not so surprisingly, our French friends always love it. (Mmmmmm, Montgomery Cheddar and Red Leicester.) Good cheese is good cheese.
The producers of Roquefort and Époisses de Bourgogne may view it as infernal rind but the world's best cheese comes from England. Cornish Blue, made in Liskeard by Philip and Carol Stansfield, nosed ahead of 2,600 entries from 26 countries to win this year's World Cheese Awards.
This cows' milk cheese has a freshness that is a world away from the briny tang of Roquefort or the aged complexity of Stilton. Creamy and young, it is a wholly different approach to blue cheese.
Of course, the great classics will retain their place on the cheeseboard, but Britain's willingness to accept lactic innovation means they have been joined by a host of newcomers. According to Juliet Harbutt, organiser of the World Cheese Awards, we now have a choice of 700 homegrown cheeses while the French have only 600 fromages to savour. If this means we are heading for anarchy, in line with de Gaulle's famous dictum about the ungovernability of a country that produces many different kinds of cheese, it seems a small price to pay.
