The Cheese Shop Chester

A family-run Chester landmark championing British artisan cheese, local makers, and sustainable farming for over 40 years.

Proudly British. Championing Sustainability. Since 1985.

The Cheese Shop Chester is 40 years old and has become a well-known and much loved establishment over the years, a local landmark which is at the heart of the local community.

Carole Faulkner opened The Cheese Shop August 1st 1985. Carole ran the Blue Bell Restaurant Northgate Street Chester and couldn’t find any decent British Cheese to serve on her cheese boards. Having made cheese in the past she knew what constituted a really outstanding cheese so she decided to open up her own shop to supply restaurants, cafes and the general public with really good quality artisan cheese.

From the beginning it was Carole’s mission to champion Local, Northern and British cheeses supporting both British dairy farmers and cheesemakers, giving them a voice and a platform to show their products.

Carole’s daughter Ann Faulkner officially took over running the business 2 years ago having worked in the shop since she was 11 years old. Ann is passionate about sustainability, the importance of the environmental impact, and the highest standards of animal welfare in the industry.

The Cheese Shop has helped start and support the careers of 2 now well-known and award winning local cheese makers .

In fact the cheese shop was the first retail outlet that sold Clare Burt’s cheeses. Clare has gone on to be one of the countries most awarded new cheesemakers and credits Carole's knowledge, advice and help at the start of her career to help her get to where she is today.

Likewise The Cheese shop was the first shop Ann Clayton from Larkton Hall farm Malpas Cheshire showcased her cheeses in. Before that her cheeses were only available at farmers markets; in fact customers of The Cheese Shop actually named one of her cheeses - "Crabtree" - on the shop’s 20th Anniversary and remains one of the shop favourites.

The thing Carole is most proud of is of is that whereas customers used to ask for Continental Cheeses thinking they were superior to British they are now asking for British Cheese.

The Cheese shop stocks over 70 cheeses that rotate and change through the year, with continental cheeses making up just 10% of this.