Last updated 19:26, Thursday, 13 November 2008

THERE can be few more fitting places to find an award-winning cheese shop than in a town named after the food.

Say cheese: Faith and Brian Watterson, proprietors of Fond Ewe Fine Cheeses, Packhorse Court, Keswick, finalists in the category for best new deli in this year’s British Cheese Awards

Fond Ewe Fine Cheeses in Keswick (from “Kesewic” meaning “cheese farm”) is maintaining the town’s tradition by selling a wide variety of cheeses from across Britain and Europe.

It was recognised as one of the best new delicatessens in the country in this year’s British Cheese Awards, and received a highly recommended certificate for being among the 12 finalists.

The deli is tucked just behind the town’s Main Street, in Packhorse Court.

From the outside, hampers, sticky toffee puddings and olive oil dominate the window display, but step inside and there is little doubting what is the main attraction.

“People come in mainly because it is a cheese shop, and local cheeses make up a big portion of the sales,” says owner Faith Watterson.

She and her husband Brian opened the deli last February, when Faith decided that she wanted to become her own boss.

She says: “I thought, if I am going to be self-employed, what am I going to do, so I decided what I was passionate about was cheese.”

This passion shines through in the selection of roughly 70 cheeses that are available at any one time, many of which are produced in Cumbria.

Brian says: “I like the Crofton cheese from Thornby Moor – it goes down well with a glass of red wine.”

Faith adds: “Local produce is important to tourists and also to local people who care about how far their food has travelled.”

This also goes for their cheese boards, which are sourced from trees that were blown down during the storm of January 2005.

Among the more extravagant items available are tiered wedding cakes made up of different blocks of cheese.

Faith says: “I knew about the wedding cakes because I researched shops and found that many sold examples of produce like this.

“They are becoming popular with brides who want something different.”

She adds that most people will have the cheese tiered cakes in addition to a traditional sponge wedding cake, although some will only have the cheese version.

But there is more on offer at Fond Ewe than just cheese. A recent addition is an olive bar, which allows the customer to choose from a range of tempting olives and other snack foods, including baby yellow pumpkins stuffed with cream cheese.

Chutneys, biscuits and Fairtrade coffee are all to be found on the shelves, and honey has also proved to be popular.

But cheese remains the true speciality of both the shop and its owners and Faith has an important tip on how best it is to be enjoyed.

“You should leave cheese at room temperature for an hour before eating it,” she says.