Snowdonia Cheese Company Rock Star 150g Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese Truckle with Balsamic Caramelised Onion Chutney

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The fact that Alex James has retreated to a farm in the Cotswolds to make cheese is either the most surprising turn-up for the books ever, or a predictable twist in the narrative of the modern celebrity. Formerly the most debauched member of the 1990s Brit Pop set, Alex James pursued a fast and definitively urban lifestyle for a decade. He was famous (the bass player for Blur), very rich, young and pretty, which facilitated all manner of bad behaviour. Women, private-members' clubs, booze and drugs, a rumoured tendency to do things like sleep under the snooker table of London's Groucho Club ... (Did he really do that? 'Yeah! For about a week! Hee hee!') Caroline Dewar (5 March 2012). "Who's who in the Chipping Norton set". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 6 May 2012. Coachella 2013: Blur, Phoenix and Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline". The Guardian. 25 January 2013. Retrieved on 7 February 2013. Essential life skills No 237 - How to pair whisky and cheese". Esquire. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012 . Retrieved 16 July 2014. Alex James: Blur and Oasis owe a lot to The Beatles". Msn.com. 26 June 2019 . Retrieved 6 May 2020.

He makes me try a vacherin; 'It's like ice cream, isn't it?' He tells me that Roger Crudge has signed him up for a cheesemaking course, and that he's excited; and that a farmhouse cheese 'is like a living thing.' There's no doubting his enthusiasm for cheese, for country living, and for agriculture, which he thinks 'has branding issues'. This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. ( October 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) So Roger Crudge and Alex James rebuilt the relevant stone outhouse, and kitted it out with cheese production in mind. They are now in the process of making quantities of Geronimo, a soft cheese (named after James's eldest son) which they hope to have perfected by the end of this month. After that, they have grand plans for other varieties. 'We're starting with soft cheese because it only takes three days to mature, and other cheeses take three to six months. There's one that takes nine or 10 years to mature. But generally, cheese is like champagne - it doesn't get better with age. Cheese goes waxy. Champagne goes sweet. Anyway, my other cheeses - I want to give them all stupid names. Churchill Lady, I like; and Cotswold Slapper. And Rotten Bastard. Oh. Mad Bitch! And, and I want a triangular one called a Wedgie!' He shows me a board, to which is pinned a list of prospective cheese names. He's going to sell them locally, he says; for example, at the Daylesford Farm Shop, the terrifyingly expensive, hilariously over-staffed organic extravaganza owned and run by JCB heiress Lady Bamford. He'd like to sell to Fortnum's, Harrods, the Ivy even. He's spent so much money there over the years, he points out, that it would be nice if they reciprocated. But essentially: 'It's like, equivalent of saying, "Oh, we're just going to make music, and if people listen to it and like it, then great." He laughs. 'I love cheese. And I think, if you know how to make cheese, you're always going to have a bit of cheese, aren't you? Ha ha!' In 1988, James met future bandmate Graham Coxon at Goldsmiths College, where James studied French. Introductions with Coxon's old school friend Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree soon took place; at the time Albarn and Rowntree were part of a band called Circus. Alexjamespresentsharvest.com". Alexjamespresentsharvest.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012 . Retrieved 15 July 2012. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link)

This process, which usually takes 30-40 days, is responsible for the intense taste of the cheese. The climate of the Cyclades is also said to play a role, with the milk produced in April and May considered the best for making this cheese. It is produced in small batches across the Cyclades, but also via cottage industries. Caspar LLewellyn Smith (3 June 2007). "Review: Bit of a Blur by Alex James". The Observer. London . Retrieved 16 February 2011. Naughton, Philippe (16 January 2010). "Alex James on reuniting with Blur". The Times. London . Retrieved 23 April 2010.

James announced he would open his Oxfordshire farm to host an annual food and music festival. The event, titled Alex James Presents Harvest, [33] took place from 9 to 12 September 2011, in conjunction with promoter Big Wheel Promotions.Unlike Albarn, Coxon and Rowntree, James has not released any solo material, although he has been involved in other collaborative side projects. In 1998, James formed Fat Les with actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst, releasing the unofficial theme song (excluding three others) " Vindaloo" for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. He also worked on side project Me Me Me with Stephen Duffy, co-wrote songs for Marianne Faithfull (appearing in drag playing a double bass in the music video for her single "Sex With Strangers") and Jane McDonald, and worked with Florence and the Machine and Gene Loves Jezebel. More musical and children's entertainment delights added to the menu for Jamie Oliver presents The Big Feastival with Alex James". Jamieoliver.com. 10 August 2012 . Retrieved 16 July 2014.

a b Hyde, Marina (3 November 2011). "Dark days for Alex James's 'Worstival' ". The Guardian. London. Plunkett, John (13 February 2008). "Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Alex James join revamped Classic FM line-up". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 February 2019. Leonie Cooper (16 June 2007). "Sex and drugs and bacon rolls". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 25 March 2011. In 1989, James joined Coxon, Albarn and Rowntree's new band, Seymour, which would later be renamed Blur. He has been in the band ever since, although in 2008 he described the days of being a constant band member as "a past-life". [2]A year ago, he met Roger Crudge, a local cheese maker of some standing. They were introduced by James's farm manager, Paddy (who has just finished work on Madonna's stables). James wanted to renovate another of the farm's many outhouses. 'But you could spend fifty grand renovating crumbling old buildings but it won't add fifty grand to the property. It's like running a small country, running a farm. It's much more expensive than running around the Groucho or the Ivy. So you've got to be more realistic about a farm. Building a cheese factory made sense.' Hassall, Greg (16 March 2012). "Alex James: The Cocaine Diaries, Saturday, 17 March". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 16 February 2019.