With this year's event a resounding success, next year's festival dates have already been set. Make a note in your diaries for 26 & 27 September 2009! Find out more about this year's festival here.

 

The Great British Cheese Festival makes Cardiff Castle its permanent home this year, and is one of the most prestigious events in the foodie calendar. Come and indulge in the very best of British food & drink - from the ripest Stilton to the maturest Cheddar, the finest chutneys to the sauciest pies, plus an impressive array of beers, ciders, Perry and wines.

The Festival is open to the public on Saturday September 27 and Sunday 28, and on Friday buyers will descend on Cardiff for a trade day, followed by the British Cheese Awards Dinner at the world famous Millennium Stadium on Friday evening, where the winners of this year’s awards will be announced.

 

To celebrate the festival a sculpture of Cardiff Castle has been made out of cheese. The model was sculpted from a 2m x 1.5m block of Welsh Cheddar. The model took 10 hours to make and the process was filmed and condensed into a two-minute video of the Castle's history. See the video here.

 

 

• Britain’s Biggest Cheese Market - over 450 cheeses to try and buy
• True Taste of Wales – a selection of award winning produce from the host country
• Best of British Market – a diverse range of artisan and unusual fine food & drinks
• Rare Essentials – specialist ingredients that can not be produced in the UK
• The Cardiff Arms – offering over 35 British beers, wine, cider and Perry
• Masterclasses and Demonstrations – throughout the weekend there will be a lively programme catering for everyone from novices to experts - click here for details.

• Cheese Tossing, Cheese Skittles and Live Music

 

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Former Blur bassist Alex James, one of the contestants in the BBC celebrity conducting competition Maestro which starts next week, will be bringing his range of cheeses to The Great British Cheese Festival, among them his Wallop cheeses, which will be one of many of the UK’s finest cheeses on show. Alex produces the Wallops as one half of the Evenlode Partnership with festival advisor Juliet Harbutt. They launched Little Wallop at the end of 2007, a cheese wrapped in vine leaves and washed with Somerset cider brandy, and followed up this Easter with the exclusive farm shop, Daylesford’s launch of Farleigh Wallop, imbued with a delicate hint of thyme.

The Festival provides a focal point at the start of British Cheese Week, September 27 – October 5. For more information visit www.thecheeseweb.com

 

The Festival's location, within the Castle grounds means you’ll only be a short walk from Cardiff’s top visitor attractions and hotels, as well as theatres, art galleries, live music venues, shops, bars, riverside cycle trails, cafes and restaurants.

Sprigs of fresh thyme pressed into the soft, white velvet-like crust imbue the stark white interior cheese with a delicate hint of thyme. Dense yet creamy when young with just a hint of mushrooms it becomes nearly liquid with age and the subtle hint of thyme and nutty, aromatic character of the milk is unveiled.

 

Washed in Somerset cider Brandy, wrapped in vine leaves he develops a medley of moulds and complex flavours. At 2 – 3 weeks as splodges of white start to bloom he is nutty and lemony fresh. Gradually the rind softens, the texture becomes silky, the cider works its magic and his underlying character is revealed – yeasty, nutty, almondy with a whiff of brandy.

 

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• Vouchers are redeemable when booking a Masterclass or Cheesemaking Demo [subject to availability]. For details visit www.thecheeseweb.com Special discounts are also available on admission to Cardiff Castle.

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For information on How to get to Cardiff click here

 

 

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For information on Accommodation in Cardiff click here

 

 

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For information on How to get around Cardiff click here