An orange rind, supple texture and a spicy aromatic flavour.

James Aldridge has become renowned as a maturer and developer of 'real cheeses'. In the early 1980s, he had a shop of his own and used to collect the cheese from the farms himself. In order to save on transport costs he would take as many as he could each time. This led naturally to finding ways of maturing the cheeses himself. He also inspires others to make real cheese and provides a service to budding cheese makers, offering advice on techniques.

The technique he uses is called 'smear ripening' as opposed to rind washing, a description more correctly used to describe the preparation of French-style cheeses such as Epoisses.

Celtic promise begins life as Teifi cheese, made in West Wales. James Aldridge ripens the cheese in cider, which gives it the distinctive orange rind and fruity smell. This cheese has been highly praised and won Supreme Champion at the 1998 British Cheese Awards.

This is an unpasteurised cows' milk cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Each cheese weighs approximately 0.65 kg and is shaped like a dumpling. It has a fat content of 48%. Celtic Promise is best enjoyed on the cheeseboard, and may be accompanied with cider.