Goat’s cheese is very much an acquired taste. I didn’t try it until quite late in life and somehow the experience was always disappointing. I disliked the chalky texture, the sharpness and the gamey aftertaste of supermarket cheeses I’d tried in the past. For me, goat’s cheese was only tolerable with lots of sweet accompaniments to mask the flavour.
So when I came across Noel of Narnia Natural Foods at Herne Hill Market this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised. What struck me first was his passion for his product and the integrity of the whole lifecycle from how the goats are kept, to production and the creative process behind all the different flavours.
After starting out in South Africa, Noel and his fellow cheese maker Zoran emigrated to the UK and now run a small creamery in Hertfordshire.
They currently source their milk from a supplier in the Cambridge area and are now in training to be able to manage their own herd in the future.
Noel invited me to try the ash-coated classic cheese: creamy and rich with a pleasant tang. The fresh goat’s cheese tasted like ricotta with a rich, bright aroma. The cranberry coated version had a lovely citrusy sweetness with mellow hint of cinnamon.This was the cheese I finally chose, along with a nutty walnut version I couldn’t resist.
The cheeses were to be the final course of a dinner I was hosting and went down really well with some plain wholemeal rye crackers and a drizzle of heather honey.
Out of this world!
Artisan Makers 