NORTHUMBRIA LARDER MEMBERS HELP PROMOTE NORTH EAST TOURISM (February 2006)

Northumbria Larder members Doddington Dairy and Chain Bridge Honey Farm are among local businesses enlisted to help promote North East England as a tourism destination across Europe over the next couple of months.

One NorthEast, the regional development agency, will lead a delegation of tourism partners to trade and travel shows in the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Italy and Germany this spring.

Among those attending the exhibitions will be Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, Tynedale Council (Hadrian’s Wall Country), Durham County Council, Tees Valley Tourism, Sunderland City Council, Northumberland National Park, MetroCentre Gateshead and Eldon Square.

Each exhibition will also contain a taste of the North East, including produce from Northumbria Larder members.

Chain Bridge Honey Farm, near Berwick, now boasts a wide range of honey-based products, including soaps, polishes and lip balm, and Doddington has an enviable reputation for the quality of its dairy produce.

The Maxwell family have improved the look and effectiveness of their website to include an e-commerce section where people can order cheese and fudge to be mailed to them, although fans of their quality ice cream still have to visit Northumberland to taste it.

Doddington Cheese was the first dairy product to be developed at North Doddington Farm, near Wooler, starting around 1990. The cheese recipe can be defined as a British territorial style. It lies somewhere between a Cheddar and a Leicester variation. This affords it an uniqueness in texture and flavour using the unpasteurised milk of the family’s own dairy herd. The whole fresh milk produces the range of artisan cheeses, known as Doddington, Berwick Edge and Cuddy’s Cave. The cheeses, whose popularity is spreading, are matured on pine shelves in the cool, Northumberland air for up to 15 months to give them a truly distinctive flavour.

Most of Doddington cheese for next Christmas is now made and sat in the store, slowly maturing.

Contacts at the farm are Maxwell family members, Neill and Jackie (ice cream) and Margaret-Ann (cheese). Email: enquiries@doddingtondairy.co.uk – website: www.doddingtondairy.co.uk