Neal's Yard Dairy
Coordinates: 51°30′51″N 0°07′34″W / 51.51424°N 0.12619°W
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Neal%27s_Yard_Dairy%2C_Covent_Garden%2C_2013._Photographed_by_Harry_Darby.jpg/170px-Neal%27s_Yard_Dairy%2C_Covent_Garden%2C_2013._Photographed_by_Harry_Darby.jpg)
Neal's Yard Dairy is a London artisanal cheese retailer and (formerly) cheesemaker, described as "London's foremost cheese store."[1] The first store, located in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, London, is considered an important part of the revival of the immediate area.
Founded in 1979 by Nick Saunders and Randolph Hodgson as a cheesemaker's shop, one of their first customers was Monty Python's John Cleese. The new owners were still learning how to make cheese, and "had only managed yoghurt that day, so it all rather descended into a Monty Python sketch".[2]
Despite this rocky start, the store grew from a cheesemaker into a retailer of artisanal, mostly British and Irish cheeses (including farmhouse Cheddar cheese and varieties such as Stinking Bishop), spinning off the cheesemaking operation as Neal's Yard Creamery in Dorstone, Herefordshire.[3] The company now sells about 500 tonnes of cheese a year through its store in Shorts Gardens (near Neal's Yard in the Seven Dials area), its shop in South London's Borough Market, and through its exports worldwide, especially the United States.
References[]
- ^ "By Cheese Possessed" by Dana Bowen, The New York Times, April 27, 2005
- ^ "OFM Waitrose Awards" – Best Small Retailer, Observer Food Monthly, February 15, 2004
- ^ Neal's Yard Creamery: About us
External links[]
- Shops in London
- Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
- Dairy products companies of the United Kingdom
- Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster
- British companies established in 1979
- Food and drink companies established in 1979
- Food company stubs
- United Kingdom retail company stubs