An artisan cheese company whose reputation for excellence attracts visits from far and wide is bring its real cheese fair back to the heart of Tavistock this month.

The Tavistock Real Cheese Fair 2023 is being staged by Country Cheese in Tavistock Town Hall over the weekend of August 19-20. The fair is back after a couple of years’ break as Country Cheeses founders Gary and Elise Jungheim announced that they were handing the reins over to Rebecca Jenkin (Bex), who has worked for them for 15 years and is currently manager of the Tavistock shop.

Gary and Elise said they were taking ‘a big step towards retiring’ having started Country Cheeses 33 years ago motivated by a strong desire to share their love of artisan cheese with a wider public. They now have three shops, in Tavistock, Totnes and Topsham.

Rebecca said: “Gary and Elise who started Country Cheese all those years have decided to hang up their dairy coats and cheese iron this year and take a big step towards retiring. A big step, yes, but don’t go thinking they’re going too far away from cheese which really would be a step too far. The local cheese world might look so different if it wasn’t for everything they have achieved with Country Cheeses. Starting Country Cheeses 33 years ago out of pure passion for locally made delicious artisan cheese, they’ve worked so hard to build strong relationships between customer, cheesemonger and cheesemaker.

“We would love to take this opportunity at our 10th Real Cheese Fair to celebrate everything they have created and achieved in cheese. The baton has been passed on to myself, Bex, Rebecca if you like, who you may know as the manager of our Tavistock shop and I cannot wait to continue sharing all the most incredible artisan cheese with you all.”

Gary and Elise explained that Bex had worked for Country Cheeses for more than 15 years, having started as ‘a reserved and thoughtful’ Saturday girl. They said: “We feel blessed that Bex has grasped the opportunity to take over the helm with such relish and vigour. She is an excellent captain ready to continue voyaging into awesome artisan cheese territory.”