Mike's Fancy Cheese

Michael Thompson established his artisan cheese company by raising £80,000 through crowd funding to become Northern Ireland's first raw-milk blue cheese manufacturer.

He studied cheese making at The School of Artisan Food in Nottingham and then developed his knowledge and skills particularly in Stilton-type cheese making with producers in England.

He moved back to Northern Ireland in November 2012 to set up his own dairy and raised cash for the venture through a crowdfunding initiative. This enabled him to start making cheese in November 2013.

He launched Young Buck in January 2014, winning business with leading Northern Irish restaurants such as Michelin-starred Deane's EIPIC and Ox.

The cheese is also now available from many leading specialist cheese shops and delis across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, GB, Paris, Lyon and Lille and in Alt Milch at Markhalle in Berlin's Kreuzberg district.

Young Buck has won a strong of awards for quality including UK Great Taste Awards.