Two new cheeses from Northern Irish artisan creamery

Dart Mountain Cheese in Northern Ireland is set to launch two new hand crafted products - a smoked cheese and a long aged cheese.

Dart Mountain, part of Tamnagh Foods of Dungiven in county Derry, has developed the new products to expand its existing range of four cheeses which have been named to reflect the community in which the small company is based.

The additional products, Ballydonegan smoked cheese and Tirkeeran long aged, are named after local townlands in the Sperrin Mountains, where the purpose-built creamery is located. The smoked product is produced by a technique that involves bubbling smoke through the milk during the production process.

Kevin and Julie Hickey, the American born cheese makers, who run their cheese manufacturing business, already make four popular cheeses which have won prestigious awards in Ireland and Britain.

Tamnagh Foods was established in 2010 and began business making breakfast granolas, breads and relishes. It has won business in Britain and in Europe for its granolas.
Kevin Hickey, commenting on the cheeses, says:

"We set out to try and create something unique that reflected where we were from. We launched our first cheese, Sperrin Blue, in June 2014." The creamy pasteurised cow's milk cheese with blue veining, won gold at the 2015 Irish Food Awards in Dingle, county Kerry.

Dart Mountain Dusk, inspired by the way the light falls on Dart Mountain in the evenings and characterised by its charcoal ash coating, followed in November 2014 and won Bronze at the World Cheese Awards.

Kilcreen, an Alpine-style cheese named after the townland directly opposite Tamnagh, was released in February 2015, winning a Great Taste Award from the UK Guild of Fine Food in Dorset.

In November 2015, Tamnagh Foods launched its creamy Banagher Bold beer-washed cheese using No 26 pale ale from Northbound Brewery in Campsie in Derry. The craft brewery uses water from the Banagher river which flows past the creamery.

The addition of Tirkeeran, named after an old barony which included all the townlands from the top of the Sperrins to the River Foyle, and Ballydonegan, named after a local smoke house, will complete their original plans for a range of six cheeses.

Their Tirkeeran cheese was successfully trialled at Derry City and Strabane District Council's Big Cheese and Beer Expo held in Guildhall Square in April.

The business has quadrupled production to satisfy demand from restaurants in Northern Ireland keen to use local produce on their menus.

Tamnagh Foods' two granola ranges - maple nut and fruit and, honey nut and seed - are stocked in Switzerland through a chain of 14 stores, having previously been on sale in Harrods. Their cheese range was recently part of a Taste of Northern Ireland showcase at Fortnum & Mason in London.

They have also secured what Kevin described as "a big chutney order" from a major Irish wholesaler but the good news is that while the cheese making may be a lengthy process, chutney and granola can be made much more quickly.