A Unique Cheese

If its rustic appeal weren’t seductive enough, the back story is one any marketing department would kill for. Bodmin Moor farmer Alan Gray found the 17^th-century recipe in his loft and decided to give it a go, christening his creation by reversing his own surname.

Later, he sold the rights to dairy farmer Michael Horrell, whose dairy herd grazed upon lush pastures at Netherton in south-east Cornwall’s Lynher Valley; upon his retirement, the business passed to current owner Catherine Mead, who in 2006 centralised production at its secondary plant, where it remains today.

Awarded an OBE for services to cheese and community in the 2019 Birthday Honours, Catherine sits on boards including the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association and Show, as well as being Deputy Lieutenant and a former High Sheriff. A busy lady, today she oversees strategy while the day-to-day business is handled by Debbie and operations manager Liam Cox.

I follow the cheese production process from the separation of curds and whey in large open metal vats, via the brining and moulding rooms to the fragrant maturing stores (the aroma of two-year matured Kern really hits the back of the throat), past the freezers where the nettle and garlic leaves are stored, ending with packaging and labelling.

Arguably, the most fascinating stage in the life of Yarg is where a group of skilled nettlers painstakingly cover each cheese wheel with leaves. This is where the magic happens.

“It’s what makes Yarg Yarg,” says nettler Ruth, pointing out that she and her fellow nettlers each have a style as individual as a fingerprint – her leaves meet at a point, while Di’s are more like a swirl. It’s irresistible, and everyone from Loose Women to Countryfile has given it a go: “People don’t realise how labour-intensive it is.”

Ask if the nettlers take a pride in their work, and they nod vigorously in unison. “If I spot Yarg when I’m out and about, I always take a close look to see if it’s one of mine,” adds Di. Even if it isn’t, “it can only have come from one place, and that’s here”.

Nettles are foraged by hand from late spring to early summer, all over Cornwall – never beyond – and mostly on private land well away from footpaths and roads (using What3Words coordinates) to ensure there is no contamination. The bigger, the better. The leaves are dipped and sterilised in concentrated fruit juice before being applied to each wheel.

Wild garlic, meanwhile, is collected in February and March from woodland behind the dairy. These leaves are far more delicate, and the process is adapted accordingly, with the cheese rather than the leaves being dipped. The result: same Yarg, but imbued with the subtle yet unmistakable flavour of a Cornish spring.

Around twice as many nettles as garlic are gathered, and both lines are made using milk from a number of local herds and matured for four weeks, growing a furry white mould that resembles snow – small wonder Christmas is the busiest time of year. The dairy aims to process 7600l milk per day – that’s two million litres of milk annually, and more than 200 tonnes of cheese.

In 2017, a new label was added to the portfolio. Born out of a desire to have a hard, mature cheese, black-waxed cheese Kern had barely even left the drawing board when it was named World Supreme Champion Cheese, taking everyone by surprise. Its subsequent success led the dairy to expand its premises and invest in its own 100-head herd of Ayrshires to guarantee consistency of flavour.

These are farmed a stone’s throw away at Gadles Farm on Laity Moor by tenant farmers Jonathan and Eleanor Hosken. Every single wheel of Kern is made using their creamy, full-fat milk, meaning production is limited by yield.

Both Yarg and Kern are sold principally through farm shops and delis, with Yarg having been withdrawn from supermarkets just before Covid hit. “We didn’t want to be so reliant on large multiples,” explains Debbie. “Rather than having three big customers, we opted to spread distribution among lots of smaller sellers. This means we are also supporting the independent outlets that we truly value, by giving them a point of difference.”

In hindsight, it was a good move as Sainsbury’s and Tesco didn’t reopen their deli counters after the pandemic. “It isn’t a pre-packed mass-market cheese – it needs to be cut to order,” says Debbie.

The Great Cornish Food Store stocks the entire range of cheeses from the dairy – both Yargs, Kern and Stithians – a kind of “naked Yarg”, if you will, matured without leaves out of sheer curiosity. One batch was produced for the Stithians Show each year, and slowly customers began asking for it outside of show season.

The sudden hike in energy prices affected the dairy as much as any business, if not more given the need to chill so much cheese at any given time. When it became apparent that bills threatened to wipe out the company’s profit, it was time to consider alternatives that would save not only money but also the planet.

All avenues were explored, from ground and air source heat pumps to solar. The latter won out, and last month, the dairy used more energy from the sun than from the National Grid. It’s serendipitous that the highest energy demands, in the heat of high summer, correspond with the most hours of daylight. “Refrigeration is a huge part of our energy consumption,” says Debbie. “Cheese is matured at a temperature of between four and eight degrees, so when it’s colder outside, the fridges don’t need to work so hard.”

A car charging point was installed in May, and is amply provided for by the electricity generated on site. Single-use plastic is nowhere to be seen; cheesecloth is washed and reused, and the finished product is wrapped in paper secured with a label.

The work paid off, in spades. Lynher Dairies received the King’s Award For Sustainability in May 2024, elevating it as a shining example of a proactive and resilient rural business. Inspections were rigorous, as sustainability lead Emily Rodda recalls: “They covered everything: plastic waste, carbon emissions, electricity usage, workplace culture, stakeholder engagement. It’s a reflection on the business as a whole, and very good for staff morale.”

Along with a work-life balance of Monday to Friday and bank holidays free, the business is described as “people-centred”, and this shows in its staff retention. Of its 20-strong team, most have been with the company for over 15 years, some dating back to its Netherton days. In the office, Sarah Barnes is one of a handful whose tenure stretches back over 30 years: “I went for a summer job and never left,” she laughs. “My husband was the herdsman, his great-aunt was a nettler.”

She reflects on how things have changed since. “Michael was looking to use his milk in different ways, and Yarg started with small vats and was cut by hand, with a tiny pasturiser. It had a cafe and visitor centre, and produced lots of different cheeses. We have focused on making fewer cheeses, really, really well – essentially, making Yarg perfect every time.”