I am a big fan of Wallace and Gromit….this story is almost too surreal to believe, but it is true. I am trying to find some Stinking Bishop for a certain cheese lover I know…it seems almost impossible to find…cd
Guardian Unlimited Film | News | Stinking Bishop lives in fear of the Wallace & Gromit effect
Stinking Bishop lives in fear of the Wallace & Gromit effect
Steven Morris
Tuesday September 13, 2005
The Guardian
Piglets are snuffling in the perry pear orchard, and cows grazing in the meadows down in the valley. It is hard to imagine a lovelier scene than this, in a tranquil corner of Gloucestershire yesterday.
But Charles Martell, cheesemaker and self-confessed ageing hippy, is worried. His cheese, Stinking Bishop, is about to become world famous by taking a starring role in the new Wallace & Gromit film. Mr Martell, 59, fears that fans may clamour for his product, as they did when Wensleydale cheese featured in an earlier film.
“I won’t be able to cope,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re a small farm, a microbusiness really, and we simply can’t produce more cheese.”
“I’m quite happy with what I’ve got at the moment. I don’t need more money. I can only wear one suit at a time, or drive one car. And I certainly don’t want fame.”
The cheese, produced in Dymock, 15 miles north-west of Gloucester, is bathed in perry – pear cider – made from a fruit called Stinking Bishop. This produces a bacterium that flavours the cheese. Mr Martell employs two cheesemakers who produce about 100 rounds a day.
Aardman Animations approached Mr Martell this year to ask whether it could use his product in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which is out next month. The role of the cheese is a closely guarded secret. Mr Martell agreed, but did not realise what he was letting himself in for.
The people at the Wensleydale Creamery soon put him right. Their business was under threat, but some 10 years ago the animation’s creator, Nick Park, decided the cheese would be his characters’ favourite. The creamery now employs 200 people and its turnover has quadrupled. The company’s spokesperson, Jennifer Middleton, said: “I may be to blame for worrying Charles, but I’m sure he’ll do well, and it’s good for all cheesemaking.”
