Cote Hill Farm: The Lincolnshire Family Behind Britain's Best Cheese

In 2024, the judges at the British Cheese Awards handed their Supreme Champion title to a cheese most of the country had never heard of. Cote Hill Snowdrop - a soft, bloomy-rind cheese from a small family farm in Lincolnshire - beat hundreds of entries from across Britain to claim the top prize. For the Davenport family, it was the culmination of twenty years of quiet, dedicated craft. For everyone else, it was a very good reason to pay attention.

A family farm with deep roots

The Davenport family moved to Cote Hill Farm in Osgodby, Lincolnshire in 1962, establishing a dairy herd the following year. For decades, like so many British farming families, they sold their milk into a market that rewarded volume over quality and kept prices stubbornly low. In 2004, Michael and Mary Davenport decided to do something different. Rather than continue selling raw milk, they began making cheese - and Cote Hill Blue and Cote Hill Yellow were born.

It was the start of something genuinely special. Their son Joe joined the business in 2010, bringing fresh energy and a new generation of ideas. He developed Cote Hill Lindum and Cote Hill Red, before Cote Hill White and the now-famous Snowdrop rounded out a range that has since accumulated an extraordinary roll call of awards: Gold at the World Cheese Awards, multiple wins at the British Cheese Awards and the Great Yorkshire Show, and that 2024 Supreme Champion title.

The cheeses themselves

What makes Cote Hill's range so impressive is its breadth and consistency. Cote Hill Snowdrop is delicate and bloomy, named in honour of Cynthia, the Davenport matriarch who started the dairy in the 1950s and whose favourite flower - the snowdrop - grows across the farm's hedgerows and verges. Cote Hill Blue is rich and complex, while Cote Hill Red offers a firmer, more robust character ideal for cooking or a serious cheese board. Cote Hill Yellow and Lindum sit in the semi-hard middle ground - versatile, approachable and consistently excellent.

How to enjoy them

Any Cote Hill cheese deserves to be properly framed. Serve at room temperature with a generous selection of crackers & crispbreads, a good chutney and a handful of cured meats for a board that will genuinely impress. The Snowdrop pairs beautifully with honey & honeycomb, while Cote Hill Blue holds its own alongside a glass of something from our fortified wine & mead range. For a celebration, their cheese hampers and stacking cake options make an unforgettable centrepiece.

Twenty years of family craft, a Supreme Champion title and a range that spans soft to blue - Cote Hill Farm are, quite simply, one of the best things in British cheese. Shop the full range online at Farmfetch for easy UK delivery.