THREE generations of a farming family from Brinkworth were in attendance to celebrate their cheese being recognised as the best in the West this week.

Ceri Cryer of Brinkworth Dairy, along with her father Joe Collingborn and baby Eric, were at Exeter Cathedral on Tuesday (4) to receive the top prize in the cheese category at the Taste of the West Awards.

The Awards, now in their 23rd year, celebrate the best food and drink across the South West and are a benchmark for excellence in the region.

This year 1,200 products were entered in the awards and the dairy’s Brinkworth Blue was crowned as the champion cheese.

Judges described the cheese as “an incredibly complex, charismatic and dense cheese that punches well above its weight”.

Speaking after the awards Ceri said: “Brinkworth Blue has been slowly working its way up the prize leaderboard.

“Everyone on the farm cares about the cheese and works hard to get it right.

“It starts with Steve spreading the muck on the fields and feeding the cows, making sure he balances their diet so the milk has the right constituents for us.

“Ro selects bulls to breed with our cows to make healthy long living cows.

“Joe, Danny and Alex milk the cows calmly and keep the cows healthy to give us clean milk.

“Our cheesemaker, Lewis, works hard to consistently produce this excellent fruity tasting cheese all year round.

“Lewis even works during nights to ensure a continuous supply of cheese even in the school holidays when childcare comes first.”