Chef helps to celebrate creamery expansion (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Chef helps to celebrate creamery expansion

9:52am Wednesday 9th February 2011 in Hawes news

AN award-winning cheese company has marked the completion of an £800,000 upgrade to its visitor centre with a cooking challenge hosted by a TV chef.

Rosemary Shrager took part in a cook-off at Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, North Yorkshire.

Ms Shrager, who has appeared on TV programmes including Ladette to Lady, challenged two teams to create a dish using the creamery’s Jervaulx Blue cheese.

She devised and demonstrated two recipes and oversaw the contestants trying their hand at a pasta-based dish.

The audience then voted for which team they thought had performed the best.

Ms Shrager said: “As a television chef living in Yorkshire, I am passionate about locally-produced fine food.

“I strongly believe in the quality, authenticity and provenance of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese.

“The Wensleydale Creamery should be applauded for making such a large investment in its visitor centre.”

David Hartley, the Creamery’s managing director, said: “The investment in our visitor centre reenforces that ethos by strengthening the sustainability of the Dales as a tourist destination.”

The expansion of the centre included tripling the size of the cheese shop, a new coffee shop and an enlarged gift shop.