Lucy’s June 2026 Cheese of the Month: Pevensey Blue
If you know me, then it will be no surprise to see Pevensey Blue pop up here as my cheese of the month at some point – it is always in my top 5 cheeses every single time I revise that list. It is made in East Sussex by Martin and Hazel Tkalez, using organic milk from the next-door Court Lodge Farm, in a dairy built on Hazel’s family beef farm.
After 15 years working in the cheese business, first at Neal’s Yard Dairy and then a year at Trethowan Brothers, Martin along with his wife Hazel took the plunge and made their dream a reality. They didn’t feel they could compete with Stilton in the nation’s hearts, so they based their recipe on Gorgonzola.
This is a wonderful cheese – I must tell you that for me it does not win prizes for looks – but never judge a book by its cover as its taste and texture are a remarkable combo. Its blue veining is not abundant but so well balanced across the flavour of the cheese as a whole. On cutting the cheese it yields to the knife in a soft fudgy way giving you just a little glimpse of the joy of the dreamy mouthfeel to come. Its flavour is big but not frightening in a Roquefort way. It is indulgent in a way clotted cream is more indulgent than its non-clotted sister. Its smooth but not bland, salted perfectly and I think that they have achieved their goal in wanting to create a cheese that is not too blue, not too salty but ridiculously moreish. Nutty, creamy, piquant and just enough farmyard notes to know you are eating a true Artisan cheese. Awarded Supreme Champion at The Artisan Cheese Awards in 2022, literally a few months after the first batches were released for sale.
So why now? The cheese we are enjoying now is made of milk from the cows that have been put out in the fields in the spring, and I believe that this liberation and abundance of fresh spring grasses and flowers do make a real difference to the milk. The balance of proteins and butterfat in the milk at that time reflect this. Theoretically this should allow a greater number of those delicious blue veins and allow the paste to mature to that adorable fudge-like texture. These are minor changes and to be honest with you by concentrating hard for several years on perfecting one cheese (rather than being distracted by inventing several new cheeses at once) Martin and Hazel have achieved a consistency in Pevensey Blue that is rare to find in the world of artisan cheese making.
I love it with fresh pears but if you match it with something sweet like sticky port-soaked raisins you create an indulgent pudding like sensation which lifts this cheese to another level. I like it with sourdough crackers or something crunchy because it works well with the fondant texture of the cheese.
Fay @bigwheelcheese was one of the first people to sell this cheese and champions it wherever she is standing market. She will have it, as usual, this month on her stall at Cheesewick and I recommend it thoroughly to blue cheese and non-blue-cheese lovers alike. I know after tasting it I will not be the only one who has this on their list of top 5 cheeses – enjoy!