Gloucestershire-based cheesemaker and distiller, Charles Martell & Son has taken the Best Soft Cheese trophy at the Artisan Cheese Awards 2025, with its full fat pasteurised cow’s milk cheese, Slack-ma-Girdle.
Made at the Martell’s family-run farm in the village of Broom’s Green, Slack-ma-Girdle is a natural-rinded soft cheese, which impressed the judges with its oozing texture and delicate flavour profile, including buttery and lemony tasting notes.
Well-known as producers of the iconic Stinking Bishop – the cheese that initiated a resurgence in washed rind cheesemaking in the UK – Charles Martell & Son also collected a host of awards for its other cheeses, including Gold medals for Stinking Bishop, Single Gloucester and Hereford Hop.
Stinking Bishop was Highly Commended in the Washed Rind class, as one of these highest scoring cheeses in its category, while Single Gloucester was also Highly Commended in the Protected Name class.
A Charles Martell spokesperson said, “Developed by Charles Martell and head cheesemaker, Justyna Burford, Slack-ma-Girdle represents the steady evolution of a small-scale business that played a pivotal role in Britain’s artisan cheese revival at the end of the 20th century.
“Now producing eight styles of cheese, including hard, soft, blue and washed rind varieties, as well as a range of spirits made in a restored distilling barn just metres from the family home, the Martell family remains committed to the artisan and sustainable values that were at the core of Charles’ vision when he first took over the farm in 1972.”
Charles Martell said, “We’ve been fortunate enough to win many awards over the years, but I must say it feels just as special to gain this recognition three decades in. The bar is raised every year, as artisan cheesemaking continues to flourish across the British Isles, so our long-serving and committed team should be very proud of these achievements. We must always strive to improve and develop our craft, and such a prestigious trophy for one of our newer cheeses goes to show that we are heading in the right direction.”