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orget going to France to get good cheese – just make your own.

At the Leagram Organic Dairy in Lancashire, Bob Kitching and his family make cheese the traditional way (by hand and with wax) and they’re happy to show you the ropes.

If you can manage to take your eyes off Bob’s colourful waistcoats and ties (they’re almost as famous as his demonstrations) he’ll teach you how to drain the milky curds, before dipping them into a hot wax seal. Leagram Dairy churns out (sorry!) 300kg of cheese a week but Bob refuses to sell to big-brand supermarkets because he sees cheese-making as an art, not a business. And frankly we agree.

Bob’s “art” has produced some interesting varieties: how about some organic Lancashire cheese flavoured with mixed pepper, apple, pineapple and mint?

Or a chunk of unique sheep’s milk cheese? Each cheese has its own character; perhaps that’s why Bob insists on giving them such quirky names.

We recommend Bob’s Knobs with a bit of Branston pickle.