“Cracking cheese, Gromit” – do you share the love of cheese like Wallace from the animated short films ‘Wallace and Gromit’?
We are a nation of cheese lovers, but according to Tesco our taste for the creamy stuff has developed away from just cheddar – or Wensleydale in Wallace’s case. Demand for Cypriot and Greek cheeses have soared in recent years but what cheeses are people favouring?
According to the retail commercial property, sales of halloumi and feta have increased by over 100 per cent in the last year. Sales of Tesco’s Finest Halloumi have increased by a whopping 132 per cent, whilst sales of Tesco’s Finest Barrel Aged Feta were up by 26 per cent in a year.
Speaking of the change in consumer tastes Ashleigh MacFarlane, cheese buyer at Tesco, said: “We started selling one type of feta and one type of halloumi about 10 years ago in our larger stores. The majority of sales would come during the summer months as they were then mainly bought to go in salads.”
Tesco believes the increase in demand could be mainly thanks to celebrity chef’s using the different cheeses on TV cooking shows and also in their cooking books. By showing people how to cook the cheese and what they can do with them, people are more willing to try and buy new products.
“But demand has really been boosted by celebrity chefs such as Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay who have featured these cheeses on their TV shows and in their recipe books.
“These programmes have helped demonstrate the versatility of these cheeses which are now often used in cooking to make pizzas, pies and lasagne as well as making great toppings for pasta dishes,” Ashleigh added.
But popular restaurants such as Nando’s also sell halloumi cheese as a side, which could also be influencing buys from Tesco stores.
Do you like Greek and Cypriot cheeses such as feta and halloumi or are you like Gromit and prefer Wensleydale?
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