A THIRSK artisan cheese-making firm is celebrating after winning several prestigious industry awards.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses took home both the Gold and Silver awards in the Ewes Milk Soft Cheese class for their Mrs Bells Blue and Yorkshire Fettle cheeses.

The firm was also awarded a Silver for their Buffalo Blue at the 2021 Virtual Cheese Awards.

The family-run company was also crowned Cheese Heroes of the Year, an honour awarded for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shepherds Purse helped sustain their suppliers by bringing forward the launch of their new format of Yorkshire Fettle last spring in order to give a lifeline to their sheep milk producers.

Director Caroline Bell, who runs Shepherds Purse along with sister Katie said: “We’re so delighted to have won these awards and particularly surprised and honoured by being awarded Cheese Hero of the Year.

“The last 15-months have been a really tough time for all of us, and we’re grateful that we found a way to play a role in helping to sustain our sheep milk suppliers and ensure their survival.

"The award and recognition is a huge lift to our whole team and all our partners who were involved in the efforts to make it happen.

“The response from our customers to our new format Fettle has been phenomenal and the support itself has been uplifting and energising.

"We founded our company back in the 1980s on the qualities of sheep milk and finding ways to make it more accessible, particularly to those that were suffering from cow’s milk allergies, so it’s in our DNA.

"But it’s still a niche milk and that made our producers more vulnerable to the closure of the hospitality sector, it was important that we found a way to help and we’re so happy that it has helped.”

Launched in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, The Virtual Cheese Awards aim to create a sustainable, inclusive and transparent awards event that supports and celebrates British and Irish cheesemakers