Britain’s champion cheesemakers are planning a post-covid comeback in 2021, with new cheeses and plans to throw open the doors of their Blackmore Vale cheese farm to visitors.

Marcus Fergusson and Penny Nagle gained international recognition when their Renegade Monk cheese was crowned Supreme Champion at the 2020 Virtual Cheese Awards in July.

But it came in the middle of a rollercoaster year. The couple had completed a new cheesemaking shed in February and getting the taste right in its new home was a struggle.
Also, unlike cheddars which last for 12 months or more, Renegade Monk takes a month to mature – then has a shelf life of just eight weeks. So when two lockdowns decimated business in March and November, the couple ended up feeding hundreds of the cheeses to their Oxford and Sandy pigs.

The award-winning Renegade Monk

“In the first lockdown, we had 2,000 cheeses in storage. We reduced prices and we cut down on production but we still had 300 left over which went to the pigs,” said Marcus.
“The award in July was a lifesaver because we had a new audience. We started making as much as we could, up to 600 cheeses a week. Then came the second lockdown, we had 1,500 cheeses on the shelves and our wholesalers weren’t ordering.”

The couple stopped production in early November but thanks to a late Christmas flurry, managed to shift their last cheese on December 10. The pigs also had an early Christmas present.

What’s coming next…

Now they are carefully planning for 2021, in what is a traditionally quiet time for cheese. “People don’t buy cheese in January, so we’ve never made cheese in December. We normally start again about now – but this year, we’ll wait a bit to find out what’s happening in lockdown.”

Meanwhile, a cheese visitor centre is being finished at home in Feltham’s Farm, Horsington, which is planned to host Cheese Experience tours from April. (See below.)

There will be the chance to taste Renegade Monk, which is made from organic pasteurised cow’s milk from Gould’s Farm, just two fields away. As the cheese matures the set curd is also washed in Hop Drop pale ale from Stroud Brewery.

“We are surrounded by some of the best cheddar makers, so there was no point in making a traditional cheese,” said Marcus, who began making cheese in 2016. “I am a lover of French cheese, the stinking, dirty cheese you get in markets. I wanted a washed rind cheese, in beer. And then throw some blue in it. A blue washed rind hadn’t been done before.”

Described as Britain’s strongest cheese, three Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe began ordering it after the award, and wholesalers now account for 70 per cent of national and international sales.

The name of the cheese is a nod to nearby Templecombe, where Knights Templar monks once held court. A sister cheese, Rebel Nun, is also made, a much bluer and milder cheese, like a Rocquefort.

Rebel Nun cheese

The latest addition is La Fresca Margarita, described by Marcus as “a savoury ice- cream.” It’s a lemony, light cheese, best eaten in the first week or two. This one is a joint project with Durslade Farm Shop at Hauser & Wirth and is only made to order.

Now Marcus plans two more cheeses in 2021, including a hard variety – with a longer shelf life. They will be Alpine in style, said Marcus, influenced by the couple’s love of travelling round Europe.

The beginning

The burgeoning cheese empire is a far cry from their previous careers. Both studied history then Marcus got into music while Penny became a criminal barrister and moved into the field of music and copyright law. With the first of three children born, they moved to Somerset and bought 22-acre Feltham’s Farm with a vision of organically reviving the marsh meadows.
They also wanted to be close to Horsington Primary School.

“Cheese wasn’t on the horizon when we
moved down
here,” said
Penny. “We
had an idea
of pigs –
back then, it
wasn’t about
produce. We
were trying to
help the land and
we planted trees first.”

In fact, they planted 1,500 trees, built raised asparagus beds and added chickens, sheep and pigs. When Marcus was made redundant in 2015, they relied on their holiday cottage for income.

“I thought of making wild garlic pesto. It was Penny who said: ‘How about cheese?’ She kept on at me so I did a one-day course at River Cottage, a mix of geekery and flair. I loved it.”

He learned his craft at Bath Soft Cheese and began selling Renegade Monk at market and to a few farm shops.

But for coronavirus, the business was strong and achieved organic status last February, which also opened the door to being included in Abel & Cole’s organic veg boxes and organic food shops.
The operation is completely carbon neutral. Ground source heating and solar panels provide all the power the cheese shed and its four fridges need, with excess stored in large Tesla batteries or sent to the National Grid. Supplies for around 20 farm shops locally are delivered by electric van.

The veg they grow goes to Wincanton Wholefoods and all the whey, a bye product of the cheesemaking process, is fed to the pigs. To help cope with the workload, the couple have hired their first full-time employee, a cheesemaker from Shropshire, who starts in February.

But Penny plays down their achievements since launch less than five years ago. In an interview with the excellent podcast series @Somersetstories.com, she said: “We are organic and independent.
“We are such small fry, we are tiny babies in cheese. We are not competition for anyone.”

Penny and Marcus with their awards

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