Joe Schneider and Stichelton: twenty years of paying attention to milk

Meet Joe Schneider, the cheesemaker behind Stichelton - and a man who has spent twenty years paying very close attention to milk.

At Collingthwaite Farm on Nottinghamshire’s Welbeck Estate, Joe makes his raw milk blue cheese just steps from the cows that provide the milk. He wanted the dairy here for a reason. Being on the farm means knowing what the girls are eating, how the grass is growing and what changes each season brings to the milk arriving in his vat. Those details give him something to work with every morning.

Raw milk with a sense of place

Stichelton is a British farmhouse cheese made from the raw milk of a single herd. Keeping that connection intact is central to Joe’s approach: the farm provides the milk, and his job is to help its character develop into something delicious.

Raw milk alone, however, does not guarantee extraordinary cheese. Animal care, feeding and careful milk handling establish the quality that a cheesemaker can build on. The grass and hay the girls eat influence the milk’s composition and the flavours that can develop as the cheese matures.

For Joe, those relationships are the point. In an interview with The Courtyard Dairy, he described wanting the farm, pasture, cows and milk to come through in the finished cheese. He also wanted a dairy small enough for everyone working there to make a meaningful contribution. That tells you quite a lot about the person behind Stichelton.

Small production, careful hands

Production began in 2006. Two decades later, it remains tiny: around 36 cheeses a day.

The making is slow and physical. Curds are carefully ladled by hand, with attention to how they are handled and how much moisture they retain. Later, the young cheeses are smoothed by hand to help control the development of their rind and blue veining. Every stage contributes to the texture you eventually find beneath the knife.

This work also connects Stichelton to generations of British farmhouse cheesemaking. Practical knowledge survives through use: understanding the curd, recognising changes in the milk and knowing when a cheese needs intervention or a little more time.

What does Stichelton taste like?

Stichelton can be rich, buttery and deeply savoury, with gentle blue flavours and a sweetness that keeps unfolding. Different batches and stages of maturity reveal different sides of it. That variation is part of the pleasure of artisan cheese.

We like to taste the paste on its own first, then try a piece closer to the rind. Add good bread, a pear or a glass of proper cider, and there is plenty to explore.

For us, Stichelton captures something we love about British cheese: an individual maker working closely with a farm, carrying knowledge forward and giving each day’s milk the attention it deserves.