Cheese Festival, 23rd & 24th September

We have an exciting programme of activities planned for the Cheese Festival, which takes place Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th September 2017, at The Wensleydale Creamery Visitor Centre, in Hawes 10am – 5pm each day.  There will fun for the whole family, with activities for both adults and children.

Please note that advance booking is advisable for the Cheese-making Demonstrations and the Cheese Pairing & Tasting Workshops. Please call 01969 667664 to book your place!

View the full timetable of activity here.

So what’s on offer?

Meet local Cheese-makers and local food producers in the festival marquee

Cheese Tasting Workshops                                      Saturday & Sunday 12-12.45pm £6.95
A guided cheese tasting experience through a range of cheeses, with our Wensleydale Creamery cheese experts & our friends from Shepherds Purse Cheese. Learn about individual aromas, tastes, flavours and textures. Understand how are handcrafted to develop their own unique characteristics.

Cheese, Beer & Artisan Bread Pairing Workshop            Saturday 1.30- 2.15pm £6.95
We’ve teamed up with Hambleton Ales & Seasons Bakery from Ingleton, to pair a selection of our handcrafted cheese with their handcrafted beers and award-winning sourdough bread. Meet the experts from these businesses who will be on hand to tell you all about the beers, cheese & bread & why they go so well together!

Cheese, Gin & Chocolate Pairing Workshop                     Sunday 1.30 – 2.15pm £6.95
We’ve teamed up with Sloe Motion & Inspired Chocolate at Leyburn to pair a selection of our handcrafted cheese with a some of their handmade gins, and handmade chocolate. Meet the experts from these businesses who will be on hand to tell you all about the gins, cheese & chocolate & why they go so well together!

Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese-making Demonstration  @ 10.30am, 11am, 12.15pm, 1.30pm, 2.45pm, 4pm

Admission charge: £2.95 Adult / £1.95 Children / £7.95 Family to Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience.  £1 per person extra for Cheese-making Demonstration
Watch as one of our experienced and knowledgeable Cheese Experts carefully crafts a 500g Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese from 8 pints of milk, in approximately 40 minutes. With a full and detailed explanation of the process, and the opportunity to ask questions along the way, this is a fascinating insight into the thousand-year history of Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese.

Cheese Grading Demonstration

Various times throughout the day in Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience

(Admission charge included with entry to Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience £2.95 Adult / £1.95 Children / £7.95 Family)

See one of the Wensleydale Creamery Cheese Graders in action as they demonstrate how cheeses are checked and ‘graded’ using a specialist tool called a cheese iron.

Butter-making Demonstration

Various times throughout the day in Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience

(Admission charge included with entry to Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience £2.95 Adult / £1.95 Children / £7.95 Family)

Have fun making butter from cream! A really simple, but fun & effective activity that will see cream turned into butter in 10-15mins.

Meet the Cheese Expert Talk – David Hartley, MD of The Wensleydale Creamery 3pm
Meet the MD, David Hartley, and hear all about The Wensleydale Creamery story; from the successful MBO 25 years ago through to the current day.

Meet the Cheese Expert – Razan Alsous, Yorkshire Dama Cheese 3.45pm
Meet Razan Alsous from Yorkshire Dama Cheese & hear about her amazing journey from Syria to making cheese in Yorkshire.

Cookery Demonstrations  

(Admission charge included with entry to Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience £2.95 Adult / £1.95 Children / £7.95 Family)

Saturday 12.30pm

Yokshire Hallum! cheese-maker Razan Alsous will show off some dishes using her ‘squeaky cheese’

Saturday 3.30pm

Tristan Prudden, Head Chef, Constable Burton Hall.

Tristan, who believes that Yorkshire produces some of the finest ingredients available, will demonstrate a fine dining twist on a favourite dish, incorporating our cheese!

Sunday 12.30pm

Guy Fairhurst, owner of Fairhurst outside catering company, Middleham, will demonstrate a delicious in-season Wensleydale grouse dish.

Sunday 3.30pm

Paul Richardson-Mackie, Executive Chef, Garden Rooms Tennants

See Paul’s knowledge & passion as he uses local, sustainable and traceable ingredients, to craft a tempting dish.

More Activities

Have a go at designing a cheese label and see baby calves, plus Wensleydale Inflatables are coming along with their bouncy castle and games! You’ll also find a barbecue in our garden, and a Brymor ice cream van.

There is free parking on site, but you’ll find additional parking around Hawes, including at the Dales Countryside Museum.

The walk up from the museum to our Creamery is wonderful, and allows you to take in the fantastic range of independent local shops, cafes, pubs and more in beautiful Hawes.

If you would rather not walk, there is a free shuttle service available thanks to Yorkshire Dales National Park & Little White Bus.