About us

Background | People | Media | Awards

Background

A Cheesemonger is someone who buys and sells cheese.  It's an old-fashioned word from a time when mongers had specialist shops, places where you bought over the counter, from people, rather than just off shelves.

Canterbury Cheesemongers began selling cheese from the back of a French Simca at the Arts Centre and Riccarton Markets in 2000. It began as a part-time venture, and we stored and ripened cheese in a large shipping container moored in our back garden.

We'd learnt how to do this by working in a business that specialises in the art of affinage (cheese maturing) and cheese selling - Neal's Yard Dairy in London. Over seven years,  we were involved in all parts of the business, from looking after cheese, to cheesemaking, retail, wholesale, mail order and management.

During this time, Martin took a six month sabbatical, to learn breadmaking at Baker and Spice in Knightsbridge. It was the culmination of two years of frenzied home baking with the dream of starting a bakery as well as a cheesemongers.

Our shop in Salisbury Street opened in November 2002.   It gives us space to mature a wider range of cheeses, to produce our own bread and sweet things, and to sell chutneys, jams and other grocery items - all perfect accompaniments to cheese.

People

Media

Being a different sort of business meant that from the start we have attracted attention from the media.  This has been wonderful for us and we are very grateful to those journalists that have recognised what we are trying to achieve.

Avenues Magazine
September 2009

Thorney's Cooking Canterbury
August 2009 Food Network, CTV

The Christchurch Press - many articles, big and small (thanks to Margaret Agnew and Kate Fraser!)

Cuisine
November 2001
August 2004 - Awards of Innovation & Excellence
May 2006 - Cuisine Top 100 - no. 11
March 2007 - the Cheese issue

GekkanNZ (Japanese Language Magazine)
May 2006

The Christchurch Star
18 October 2005

Country-Wide
February 2006

Barnsley Cronicle (UK)
10 August 2005

New Zealand Home and Garden
February 2005 - Sarah Bowman's favourite shop

Sunday Star Times
April 4, 2004

New Zealand House and Garden
March 2002
Numerous small mentions in Juliet Harbutts column
November 2007

Next Magazine
April 2002

Country Life - Radio New Zealand
August 2002

Grocers Review
May 2004

Taste New Zealand  (TV1) with Peta Mathias
December 2002
October 2003 (Taste NZ 10 year awards show - winners of the 'Expertise' Award)

Awards

In 2004 we were fortunate enough to win two awards:

New Zealand Champions of Cheese April 2004
Champion Cheese Retailer

Cuisine Magazine and Matua Wines August 2004
Award of Innovation and Excellence