England’s big cheese vies for Oscar nomination
LONDON: They said it would be the most boring broadcast ever, but a webcam pointed at a West Country Farmhouse Cheddar cheese in England has become a worldwide viewing phenomenon.
The idea, originally hatched by a group of dairy farmers over a pint, has become cult viewing, attracting an audience of over 400,000 visitors from such places as India, Iceland and New Zealand.
The patience of regular visitors to www.cheddarvision.tv, who have referred to the ‘action’ as something akin to watching paint dry, is about to be rewarded.
After three months something will actually happen. In a climax comparable to finding out what happens in TV’s Lost, the first quality check of the cheese will take place today.
As many as 50,000 people are expected to tune in for this momentous event which will take place on a dairy farm in Somerset.
Born on the farm on December 19 last year, the handmade Cheddar, currently nameless, has had over 400,000 visits, though in reality it has only met one real person, its creator – cheesemaker Tom Calver.
“The interest in the cheese is incredible. I’m part of the Westcountry Farmhouse Cheesemakers co-operative and we often meet up to chew the cud,” said Culver.
“On one of these occasions we batted around an idea about filming a cheese to let the whole world appreciate just how long it takes to create the perfect-tasting West Country Farmhouse Cheddar.
“We never thought for a moment that the website would become this popular. The cheese has nearly 500 myspace friends and has even been invited to a wedding.”
Cheese grading normally happens four times during a cheese’s 12 month maturing period and this is no different for the world-famous star of cheddarvision.tv.
By pulling out a core of cheese and sniffing it, the farmer understands how it’s maturing. After the grading, tasting notes will be added to the site for all to savour. To mark the occasion people are invited to name the cheese by logging on to www.cheddarvision.tv
If you’ve yet to become a loyal fan, don’t worry, you’ll soon be able to catch up on all the ‘action’.
To mark the big day West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers are releasing a time-lapse film. The movie, featured on YouTube, will reveal the first three months maturation compressed into a few minutes. The group is said to be looking forward to the letter from the Oscar Nomination Committee in due course.
Philip Crawford, chairman of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group, explains: “We’re very proud of our cheese. The West Country Farmhouse Cheddar featured is one of just 14 UK products to carry the prestigious Protected Designation of Origin status, ranking it alongside world-famous food and drink treasures such as Champagne, Parma Ham and Cognac.
“We thought a few die-hard artisan cheese lovers might find the site of interest, but the response has been overwhelming. It just goes to show that people know a good thing when they see it…and that there can’t be much else on the telly at the moment.”
Ian Jarrett
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