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How do you balance tight budgets for Christmas, providing quality food that will impress, and also doing this in a way that supports the environment? Having recently visited Paxton & Whitfield, we suggest offering to bring the cheese to your Christmas dinner, and these cheese hamper options ensure your buying power goes to supporting regenerative farming practices.
Paxton and Whitfield
Paxton & Whitfield supply some of the top-end retailers with their artisan cheeses and fine food products, as well as leading restaurants and hotels around the country. And they also sell direct to customers. This is one of the best options for cheese lovers.
This year, working with their supply chain they are helping to reduce carbon footprints in cheese making by diverting more milk into artisan cheese, improve regenerative farming, increase accessibility to foraged foods and therefore reduce waste.
Christmas Cheese hampers
One of the more fun ways to purchase cheese is through Paxton & Whitfields cheese hampers. We’ve outlined a few of our favourites available this festive period.
Paxton & Whitfield Sustainable Cheese Hamper (£45)
Paxton & Whitfield’s ‘Sustainable Cheese Hamper’ comprises three British artisan cheeses, including:
- Cullum (200g) – in their second year of collaboration with this Cumbrian cheesemaker, the milk comes from surplus supplies throughout the year and the cheese is carefully maturated. This means less waste milk, and for the consumer it also means a varying flavour throughout the year.
- Vintage Lincolnshire Poacher (200g) – comes from a farm with strong renewable energy credentials (net exporters of renewable energy), reducing chemical and fertiliser use by cleverly cycling crops and incorporating the cows into the lifecycle of the crops.
- Baron Bigod (200g) – comes from another farm in Suffolk which currently has about 70% self-sufficiency from renewable energy, and focuses on soil health as a principle to underpin their farming.
This hamper also contains delicious Paxton & Whitfield Rosemary & Sea Salt Artisan Biscuits for Cheese (150g) brand-new Paxton & Whitfield Foraged Quince Preserve (105g) and Bare Bones Madagascar Dark Chocolate (70g).
Little Box of Christmas (£45)
Paxton & Whitfield’s ‘Little Box of Christmas’ was a best-seller last year and one that we featured last year, featuring artisan cheese and accompaniments presented in a Paxton & Whitfield gift box. The team has made some delicious changes this year, which contains: Paxton & Whitfield Smoked Ceodre (200g), Cropwell Bishop Stilton PDO (200g), the pretty tree-shaped goat’s milk cheese Sapic Cendre (120g), delicious Paxton & Whitfield Damson and Crab Apple Fruit Cheese (105g), Paxton & Whitfield Poppy & Linseed Artisan Biscuits for Cheese (150g) and a box of hand-baked Mini Gingerbread Men (120g).
Truffle Lovers Collection (£60)
A marvellous selection of fine truffle cheese, tasty charcoal crackers and moreish
Black Truffle crisps. This is the choice for a truffle fan or truffle cheese enthusiast. The Truffle Lovers Collection contains: Paxton & Whitfield Trinity with Truffles (250g), Truffelperle (200g), Heritage 1947 a la Truffe d’été (120g) Paxton & Whitfield Charcoal Artisan Biscuits for Cheese (80g) and Truffle Hunter Black Truffle Crisps (100g).
Christmas Cheese Cake (£65)
Sometimes cheese by itself isn’t enough, so this pack is designed to be presented on the table in a Christmas Tree shape, with the star-shaped Etoile de Gatine atop. For a spectacular centrepiece for any festive gathering, which we also featured last year, the Christmas Cheese Cake features Paxton & Whitfield Stilton Half Baby PDO* (1kg), earthy Cheddar Pounder PDO*(550g), creamy Celtic Soft cheese (200g) and is topped with the beautiful star-shaped Etoile de Gatine (120g).
A special mention to Corinium (£12.50 per 250g)
Although not included in any of the hampers we shortlisted above, a special mention goes to Corinium – a cow-milk based cheese, given the Roman name of Cirencester, the town nearby to the farm. The partnership between Paxton & Whitfield and the dairy farmer means increased regenerative farming, maturation for 3.5 months and washing process that leaves the rind apricot coloured. And we found this cheese to be moreish and highly recommended.
For Christmas orders for UK mainland pre-Christmas Day delivery orders must be received by 19 December 2023. Or visit stores in London, Bath, or Canterbury
For more information about the Paxton & Whitfield cheese hampers and to order, visit paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk.
