Clare Downes: Say cheese! The finest is here on our doorstep

There would be three choices: mild, medium or mature. They'd be wrapped in plastic and they'd taste of soap. Thankfully, those days are long gone.

Today, a trip to any half-decent supermarket, deli or farm shop is a revelation.

Britain has embraced cheese like never before. Many experts now think we're better at making cheese than the French. Oo la la!

I grew up surrounded by cheese. My grandma and grandpa, Lucy and Lance Appleby, created Appleby's Cheshire, at Hawkstone Abbey Farm, in north Shropshire, back in 1942. They were both passionate about cheese-making and received MBEs in 2001 for their services to the industry.

My own parents, Christine and Edward, built upon Lucy and Lance's work. As a child, I remember mum and dad driving to sell their produce in London because nobody would buy it locally. How times change.

Last year, my family celebrated its 60th anniversary by winning a hatful of awards.

Traditional cheese-making skills, flavours and textures that were almost eliminated are now more popular than ever before.

The UK now produces more than 800 cheeses of all types and I'm so very fortunate to work with some of the best.

We have a number of exceptional makers locally, like Brock Hall Farm, which is near Bridgnorth.

This place typifies what's great about British cheese. It's run by an incredibly hard-working and passionate cheesemaker, Sarah Hampton, who has a herd of pure Saanen goats. Her cheeses are remarkable and made right here on our doorstep. Sarah's Dutch Mistress was last year voted one of the best 50 foods in Great Britain. It's a remarkable achievement.

There are plenty of other good cheese makers in our region. The next time you go to a deli or farm shop, you should ask about local cheeses – there's some cracking varieties out there.

Good cheese is like fine wine. There are no shortcuts when it's being made.

Cheesemakers tend to be very passionate and sometimes a little eccentric, which makes the cheese industry great fun to be part of.

We've rediscovered part of the food culture that had all but died out. I'm very excited about what the future holds.