Trader Profile-Homewood Cheese
Hi Team Homewood – tell us about yourselves!
We are Tim and Angela and we make a range of sheep milk cheeses, all by hand in small batches. We are based in the Yeo Valley in the Mendips and are pleased to be celebrating our 10th anniversary later this year.
Where do you get your inspiration, what motivates you to do what you do?
We are passionate about knowing where our food comes from and the seasonality of it. We are very fortunate to be working in this part of the country with such a rich food heritage and fantastic producers. Sheep milk has strong seasonal variations and sheep tend not to be so intensively farmed. So we are very happy to have found ourselves working with a seasonal product and enjoy working with the excellent milk produced in the area.
Our product range has been inspired particularly by southern European style cheeses which would have traditionally been made with sheep milk. They also tend to have been traditionally peasant style cheeses used in everyday meals with a lot of regional and seasonal variability.
Why did you choose to come and trade at The Frome Independent?
We tend to be very Bristol and Bath based and coming to Frome once a month gives us the opportunity to reach a different customer base. We also find many of our chef and retail customers visit the market and its a great opportunity to have an more informal chat.
What do you like about market trading – why not just sell online or through retail outlets?
Wholesale and retail is an important part of our business, but it is attending our regular markets that gives us most pleasure as we build really good relationships with many of our customers. It is also a great opportunity to test out new cheeses and get instant feedback.
Tell us about your own favourite or best-selling product.
Now then, that’s like asking who is your favourite child! But at the moment we are really enjoying selling our new cheeses, Aveline and Lamb Leer, which are named after caves on the Mendips. The Aveline has a hole in the middle and so is named after Aveline’s Hole, site of one of the oldest ceremonial burial grounds known, dating back back some 10,000 years. The hole we remove from the Aveline is reformed to make the Lamb Leer.
Which traders and shops to you like to visit at The Frome Independent?
Each market we make a beeline for the At The Chapel bread stall, for sourdough and treats! Lunch is nearly always trout from Bio Aqua. We love to wander around the Mary Kilvert shop with her iconic sheep designs and at the end of the day we can usually be found in the Three Swans.
And finally…… A little quick fire round to get to know what you’re interests are outside of cheesemaking!
Which book has had the most impact on you? Ooh! tough question but if we had to pin it down just one book we’d say The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.
What are you listening to right now? Angry Cyclist by The Proclaimers – its Craig and Charles being as passionate as ever, looking forward to seeing them live in October.
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