Catherine is one of the two recipients of this year's Grant. Read her story here.
Before Catherine Holbrook ever picked up a cheese mould, she was already immersed in the rhythms of food and farming. Raised on her parents’ arable farm near Shrewsbury in the UK, she grew up with a deep respect for grain, where it comes from, and the wider food system that sustains us. That early grounding sparked a lifelong curiosity about how food is produced and how it nourishes both people and place.
Her journey then took her to the Netherlands, where she managed a sourdough bakery, Broodbakkerij Ex. There, she refined her craft in fermentation and came to care deeply about food waste and the importance of closing the loop within food systems. The parallels between the fermentation of grain and cheese became clear to Catherine at this point and so her journey towards milk and cheese began.
Perhaps the pull toward cheesemaking was already inevitable. In 1983, at the time of the milk quotas in Ireland when farmhouse cheesemaking was given a real kickstart, Catherine’s mother took a cheesemaking course at University College Cork. The echoes of that experience remain strong. “There’s a real parallel story there,” Catherine reflects. “My mum has always been my biggest champion, and it feels as if I’m carrying forward something she began.”
That intergenerational passion came into focus when Catherine attended a five-day Natural Cheesemaking course in August 2024. It was there she met Bec, owner of The Rare Dairy – the only certified organic, rare breed Shetland cow-with-calf dairy in the British Isles.
Catherine was captivated not just by the milk, but by the holistic approach of the farm, where cows, herbs, crafts, and community all play an integral role. “It wasn’t just about making cheese,” she says. “It was about seeing how everything on the farm connects together, and how food can be part of a whole living system.”
At that time, Bec was making paneer, delicately flavoured with seasonal herbs from the farm’s organic herb garden. Together, she and Catherine began envisioning a broader cheese offering, one that could also draw on the Rare Herbarium’s expertise in herbalism to guide affinage. The aim: cheeses that are not just rare by name, but rare in flavour and story.
Market research with Nick from The Cheese Shop, Nantwich, and Appleyard’s Deli in Shrewsbury has guided their plans to create a washed-rind cheese: individual in character and unmistakably of The Rare Dairy. Customers who already collect raw milk, many of whom are on a waiting list for cheese and butter, will be the first to taste these early batches, with local cheesemongers soon to follow.
For now, cheesemaking happens on Mondays and Tuesdays. Catherine – affectionately titled “Head Cheese” by Bec, takes the fresh, warm milk from their four Shetland cows straight into the dairy, where only small amounts of cheese are currently produced. They are experimenting with washed-rind styles as well as a mucour-ripened version, while also looking ahead to making larger cheeses in time for Christmas.
The cheeses are made in very small batches, reflecting The Rare Dairy’s commitment to quality and exclusivity. These will be available through The Rare Pantry, the farm’s on-site shop. “It feels really special to be able to hand people something we made only a few metres from where the cows are grazing,” Catherine says.
At the heart of Catherine’s cheesemaking is a commitment to working with the rhythms of the farm itself. For her, this approach represents more than just technique—it is a philosophy of circularity. Milk, cultures, plant coagulants, and even the materials for cheese forms are nurtured or gathered by hand on the farm. Nothing is wasted; whey is transformed into ferments, food products, or nutrition for plants and livestock.
While their long-term vision centres on a signature washed-rind cheese, Catherine and Bec have also designed an immediate offering that balances passion with practicality. Initially, they considered making Skyr and Handkäse from the byproduct of butter-making, but later decided against it, as it didn’t fit so well with the rhythms of the dairy. This happy accident, however, has shifted their focus: by adjusting dimensions but keeping the principles of Camembert and Primo Sale styles, they’ve been exploring the aging of small lactic cheeses. These cheeses ripen more quickly, helping ensure cash flow while allowing them to discover the peak of flavour. At the same time, they continue developing their more ambitious mucor-ripened cheese, which requires longer affinage to reach its full expression.
Equally important to Catherine and Bec is sustainability. One of The Rare Dairy’s founding principles is to eliminate plastic wherever possible, and their cheeses will be no exception. Recognising the environmental and financial costs of packaging, they are investing in solutions that reflect their commitment to both planet and people.
Becoming a recipient of the Chiswick Cheesemakers Grant is more than just recognition of Catherine’s efforts – it is a launchpad. It enables her and The Rare Dairy to bring together rare-breed milk, herbal tradition, natural methods, and local craft into cheeses that truly embody their values.
With the support of the grant, Catherine’s journey is only just beginning, opening the door to further training. Through the Academy, Catherine will be able to build her knowledge of cheesemaking styles and help her understand the nuances of different approaches and techniques that will feed directly into the development of The Rare Dairy’s unique cheeses.
Looking ahead, she is excited to continue with the Level Three Milk Production module, which will deepen her understanding of the origins of milk itself, the very foundation of the craft.
And so, from her mother’s parallel journey in the 1980s to her own leap into cheesemaking today, Catherine is carrying forward both a family story and a farm’s philosophy. With the cows, the land, and the community by her side, she is shaping something that is, in every sense, rare.
Member of the Academy, Rachel loves a good cheese and wine session. Her love of all cheeses, artisanal or otherwise, has grown from her early years of working on the cheese counter at Fortnum & Mason. She has a personal mission to taste as many cheeses as possible and to encourage this passion in others.
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