A new hope – great cheese comes to Chapel Allerton

Brand new cheese shop ‘George and Joseph’ is to open in Chapel Allerton in September.

Homage2Fromage regular andcheese fan Stephen Flemming has taken the leap from farmer’s markets and food festivals into the world of standard retail and will be opening his new cheese shop in time for this year’s Chapel Allerton Arts Festival - taking place from Friday 30 August to Sunday 1 September 2013.

The shop is small, but promises some real treats – including great localcheese, combined with some favourites from all over the world, condiments, chutneys, crackers, breads, and a selection of wines, beers and ciders .

We asked Steve why cheese, and why now? ‘After working in IT for 20 years I started to wonder what I would have done had I made some different career choices.  I kept coming back to the same conclusion – apart from my teenage ambition of becoming a record producer –I would have done something connected with food and cheese in particular.  I’ve always loved cheese, ever since I was I was a child, and I was taken with the idea of a cheese shop full of amazing cheeses.   Like a goodcheese, plans started to mature in my mind …

Around the same time, Homage2Fromage cheese club was gathering steam in Leeds.  I’d been along to the meetings and watched it grow from a small gathering of 20 people to nearly 100 cheese fans getting together every month.  This gave me the boost I needed (along with encouragement from others who’d made the leap into their own businesses) to start selling Yorkshire produced cheese at markets and fairs, as a way of dipping my toe in the water to see if the idea would work. 

A year later and I spotted an empty shop to rent in Chapel Allerton, not far from where I live.  After a bit of investigating it seemed like a great opportunity to give George & Joseph a permanent home, in an area that’s already bustling with independent shops, bars and cafes.  Hopefully we can be a great addition to the other businesses there.’

We wish Steve all the best and hope to be involved in some events up there in the not too distant future. In the meantime check out his web site for details of opening times and support this new cheese venture…

http://www.georgeandjoseph.co.uk/