ARTISAN cheese-maker Shepherd’s Purse of Thirsk, has been celebrating another win for its Yorkshire Blue, voted the Consumer’s Choice by visitors at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate. The cows’ milk blue cheese was voted the best for quality and taste in the dairy competition.

The recipe has been developed by the Bell family to give the cheese a buttery, sweet and mild flavour with no sharp bite. The cheese, traditionally handmade at the Bell family dairy in Thirsk, is the company’s best seller, available in national supermarkets, including Morrisons.

Katie Bell, managing director of Shepherd’s Purse, said: “It is always an honour to receive accolades and awards for our cheeses, but we are particularly proud to pick up this badge of honour for Yorkshire Blue as voted by the general public in our own county.” Mrs Bell’s Blue, a 100 per cent ewes’ milk cheese also scooped bronze in the soft blue cheese category at the show.