Salon du Fromage

Dragon Speciality Handcrafted Cheese range at the prestigious Salon du Fromage show

South Caernarfon Creameries showcased its Dragon speciality handcrafted cheese range with pride at the prestigious Salon du Fromage show in Paris 23-26 February. There were 300 exhibitors at the show which organisers report broke all previous records. SCC formed part of the Food and Drink Wales cluster exhibition which offered translation services to aid with any language barriers, if they arose. Over 8,500 visitors from all over the world attended during the four days.

It was particularly exciting to be able to stage and promote our Dragon Welsh Slate Cavern Aged Cheddar at the Salon Du Fromage which replicates the ancient and traditional French methods of making cheese. The French have been maturing cheese in underground caves for centuries and this inspired SCC to take cheese to Llechwedd Slate mines in Blaenau Ffestiniog to be matures. Once there it’s matured stored 500 feet underground deeper flavour. This technique succeeds because of the unique and constant temperature, moisture and air pressure in the caves which enriches the cheese profile, texture and flavour.

All of the cheeses in the Handcrafted range are made in unique partnership with other North Wales businesses. It features a Maplewood Smoked Cheddar, developed with the smokery at iconic Anglesey brand Halen Môn, and a sea salt cheddar also made in partnership with Halen Môn using sea salt from the Menai Straits. The range is completed by Dragon’s Penderyn Whisky Cheddar, made by infusing the Welsh Slate Cavern Aged cheddar with a Madeira finish whisky from the iconic Welsh distillery.

It was great to have the opportunity to share the provenance of our cheese and the fact that it’s made with milk from our Welsh dairy farms, and to raise awareness of our fantastic Welsh products to the cheese industry's connoisseurs across the globe. Emma Knight, Marketing Manager also had the opportunity to meet with the British Ambassador in France, Edward Llewellyn.

Alan Wyn Jones, Managing Director said: “The Dragon Handcrafted range is something we worked hard on to develop. We have taken some of the best high-quality Welsh ingredients, rooted in local heritage, and created a premium range of cheeses to truly be proud of. The results are testament to the quality of the produce from our farmers, as well as the skill of our cheesemakers.”

Cheeses from the Dragon Handcrafted range are currently stocked by Tesco in Wales but there are plans to expand the customer base for all our cheeses in future.