Meet The Makers:
ORKNEY CHEESE COMPANY & ISLAND SMOKERY
Situated across the windswept Orkney archipelago, creating a truly exceptional smoked cheese demands a flawless foundation and an uncompromising finish. This requires a seamless partnership between the farming cooperative behind the Orkney Cheese Company and the artisan smoking team at the Island Smokery. Together, they represent a definitive example of island food production, proving that true Orcadian quality relies entirely on patience, skill, and mutual reliance.
A TRADITION OF COOPERATION
The journey begins with the Orkney Cheese Company, an enterprise rooted deeply in community. Rather than relying on a single large estate, the dairy is owned and supplied entirely by a cooperative of local island farmers. Decades ago, these small-scale dairy producers banded together to protect their livelihoods, pooling their resources to preserve Orkney's agricultural heritage. Today, they continue this shared endeavour, ensuring every drop of milk is sourced directly from within the archipelago.
The island terroir is vital to the final product. Lashed by salt-laden winds and nourished by the Gulf Stream, the lush Orkney pastures impart a naturally rich and savoury character to the raw milk. Once it reaches the creamery, the dairy employs a historic dry-stir method. This time-honoured technique involves continually turning the curds to achieve a distinctively firm, highly tactile texture. It is a grounded approach that completely avoids mass-produced shortcuts, creating a dense, robust cheddar that acts as the perfect canvas for the smoking process.
THE ART OF THE SMOKE
Once the cheddar reaches its optimum maturity, it makes the short journey to Stromness, where Callum MacInnes and his team operate the Island Smokery. Founded with a clear vision to champion local produce, the smokery operates under a very simple island philosophy. Food production here is never about volume or speed. It is strictly about being the best.
Callum and his team take the traditional Orkney cheddar and subject it to a deliberate, slow cold-smoking process. By carefully controlling the smouldering wood chippings over many hours, they coax out a profoundly earthy, complex flavour without melting or degrading the structure of the cheese. It is a highly skilled, patient craft that requires constant vigilance and a deep understanding of how dairy reacts to temperature and wood smoke over time.
INSIDE OUR SCOTTISH HAMPERS
We are exceptionally proud to feature this collaborative island provision within our curated collections. We selected it for its uncompromising Orkney provenance and its wonderfully complex flavour profile.
ORKNEY DARK SMOKED CHEDDAR
This deeply satisfying provision is a perfect demonstration of shared island craft. It delivers a rich, firm texture with a notably dark, tactile rind created by the slow cold-smoking process. The flavour is immediately robust and woody, finishing with the creamy, sharp tang of authentic Orkney cheddar. It provides a magnificent, grounding anchor to any artisan cheese board, pairing flawlessly with a strong Scottish stout, a crisp dark chutney, or a generous pour of complex single malt.
