IF you know your Cashel Blue from your Lanark Blue and your Cornish Yarg from your Swaledale Goat, chances are you have already discovered The Cheeseworks.
But for the uninitiated, now is the perfect time to visit the independent retailer in Regent Street, Cheltenham, as the shop gets set to celebrate National Cheese Week which starts today.
The shop sells a whole host of cheeses, as well as a selection of traditional hams, wines and savouries.
And during Cheese Week there will be an even greater selection of wares to choose from as well as competitions to take part in and freebies to claim.
Owner Michelle Lewis, 37, said: "This shop has been open for about 17 years but my partner Steven and I only took it over on September.
"I am a big cheese fan. We have come from London, working in the city, so we were looking for a real lifestyle change and something that involved food that we are both passionate about, particularly cheese – we both love cheese.
"I have always been into food. Many years ago I worked behind the cheese counter down in a village in Wales called Tongwynlais.
"I used to joke with my colleagues in London that I would go back and work as a cheesemonger one day."
For National Cheese Week, The Cheeseworks will be offering everyone who spends more than £20 in the shop a free kitchen garden chutney, while stocks last.
They will also be hosting a Guess the Weight of the Cheese competition, using a slab of Appleby's Cheshire Truckle.
The prizes include a 250g Appleby's Cheshire, kitchen garden autumn apple chutney and fine English Cheese Company crackers.
They will also have some additional specialist cheeses from across the area on sale.
Michelle said: "Quality is the most important thing to us.
"We want to be able to recommend quality products to all of our customers and they all get a bespoke service.
"People can taste what we have and most of our customers taste what we have, particularly those looking for recommendations.
"The knowledge of the staff is second to none."
Sophie Wilcock, 23, the shop's manager, added: "There is nothing else like The Cheeseworks in Cheltenham.
"Nowhere in Cheltenham has the same selection and we encourage people to try our cheese when they come in.
"We offer a very personal service." To find out more about the shop and the delicacies on offer, visit www.the cheeseworks.co.uk.
