Website www.ilchester.co.uk Founded 1962 | Parent organizations Tine, Norseland Ltd. | |
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Formerly called Ilchester Cheese Company Ltd Products Applewood, Five Counties | ||
The Ilchester Cheese Company is a cheese company based in Ilchester, Somerset. The Ilchester brands are part of Norseland, a subsidiary of Norwegian dairy company Tine SA. Ilchester do not actually manufacture any cheese from scratch, but specialise in blending a variety of British cheeses with other ingredients, such as beer and fruit. Notable Ilchester cheeses include Applewood, a smoke-flavoured Cheddar cheese, and Five Counties, which is a sandwich of five layers of different English cheeses.
History
In 1962 Ken Seaton, a hotelier in Ilchester, Somerset, England, tried combining cheese with chives, Worthington E Bitter beer and a blend of spices. This and other blended cheeses are manufactured and distributed by the Ilchester Cheese Company.
The company received farm subsidies from the European Union of €891,256 between 2001 and 2005.