The Stilton Cheesemakers’ Association has reported a 30 per cent decline in the sale of Stilton – and of cheese, generally during the Coronavirus crisis. The closure of pubs and restaurants, and the virtual grounding of airlines, such as British Airways (a major consumer of cheese products for its catering) is to blame. Speaking on Sky News (18th May), Robin Skailes, Chairman of the Association, called for the British public to buy British and to support Stilton, one of the country’s great names in the world of food. The Association revealed that some 70 farms in the East Midlands depend upon Stilton, so the backing of the British public will also boost English and British farmers. However, there is a glimmer of hope: Mr. Skailes reports, “…online sales of Stilton are up, seven or eight times.”
