Slow Food Award for cheesemaker Mike Thomson
Artisan cheesemaker Mike Thomson has been named Person of the Year for Northern Ireland in the annual Slow Food UK Awards.
Mike is the only raw milk cheesemaker in Northern Ireland, and an advocate of the craft. A huge supporter of other cheesemakers via his retail store in Belfast, he is a trailblazer for good cheese in Northern Ireland. He was nominated by Director for Slow Food NI, celebrity chef Paula McIntyre. Mike was also named Best Cheesemonger in Northern Ireland.
Slemish Market Garden in Ballymena was named Best Greengrocer in the UK and Northern Ireland.
And Corndale Farm Charcuterie in Limavady, county Derry won two awards – Best Butcher and Champion Slow Food Product – Veal Charcuterie in association with Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle, county Antrim.
Created eight years ago, the Slow Food awards, part of an international movement, are truly democratic – with no prior shortlisting, the winners are simply chosen by whoever gets the most public votes.
Michael Thomson established his artisan cheese company by raising £80,000 to become Northern Ireland’s first raw-milk blue cheese manufacturer in 2013.
He studied cheese making at The School of Artisan Food in Nottingham and then developed his knowledge and skills particularly in Stilton-type cheese making with producers in England. He moved back to Northern Ireland in November 2012 to set up his own dairy, Mike’s Fancy Cheese in Newtownards, near Belfast, and raised cash for the venture through a crowdfunding initiative. This enabled him to start making cheese in November 2013.
He launched Young Buck blue cheese in January 2014, winning business with leading Northern Irish restaurants such as Michelin-starred Deane’s EIPIC and Ox.
The cheese is also now available from many leading specialist cheese shops and delis across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, GB, Paris, Lyon and Lille and in Alt Milch at Markhalle in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district.
Young Buck has also won a strong of awards for quality including UK Great Taste Awards.
Other Slow Food winners in Northern Ireland were:
Best Baker Ursa Minor, Ballycastle, county Antrim, producer of baked goods including award winning sourdough;
Best Fishmonger Native Seafood, Portstewart, county Derry
Best Deli or Grocer Warkes Deli, Portstewart
Best Market St George’s Market, Belfast
Best Restaurant/Food Eatery Stock Kitchen and Bar, Belfast
The prestigious awards were set up to highlight Good, Clean and Fair food and involved thousands of votes over the summer. Each nation has its own winners, with the highest number of votes in each category also being the overall UK winner.
They seek to promote local businesses that consistently deliver quality and sustainable food products, fulfilling the movement’s vision of a good, clean and fair food society.
The awards are truly democratic, with no prior shortlisting. Winners are chosen from each nation as well as a winner in the best overall UK category. In addition to this public vote, each Slow Food nation director nominates an individual for a Person of the Year awards. The winners each get a certificate and the right to call themselves establishment/product of the year for each nation.
