Blue cheese strikes gold for Slane farmers

Deep in the heart of lush and picturesque Mullagha, just outside Slane, farmer Michael Finegan, his wife Jenny and their 300-strong goat herd have recently struck gold, not once but twice, in the UK. Through strong entrepenuerial spirit, hard work and dedication over a three-year period, the husband and wife team have managed to scoop two of the UK's most trusted and recognised food and drink awards, by taking home two gold medals in the Great Taste Awards for their unique blue goat's cheese. Michael and Jenny work the family farm, which has been in the Finegan family since the early 1930s. They started their new enterprise in 2007, when they decided to develop a goat farm. In the years that have passed since, not only have they grown a 300-strong herd with a mix of Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg and Anglo Nubian goats, from which they supply top quality goat's milk to Glenisk for the production of yoghurt and liquid milk, and in 2010 decided to develop their own goat's cheese, even more unusually a blue goat's cheese, which to date is the only one available on the market. "The great success we experienced with our goat's milk production, which is very bountiful and full of delicate flavours, led us to believe that the location of our farm, in the quiet and rich soil of the Boyne Valley, was offering us, very naturally, a rare opportunity to develop and produce something totally new, and certainly unique in flavour," says Michael. "Once we had sufficiently researched the types of products we could produce, we consciously decided to commence with the development of a product that was not currently available on the market and so quietly towards the back end of last year Boyne Valley Blue Goat's Cheese was born. Boyne Valley Blue, which is produced for the Finegans by Peter Thomas of Castlebellingham, County Louth, producer of Bellingham Blue Cheese since 2000, only came to market in late 2010, just in time for the Christmas fare. The Boyne Valley Blue made an amazing debut at local markets, food fares and festivals and now already finds itself on the shelves of Superquinn, Sheridans Cheesemongers, Cavitistons and is distributed by Horgans Delicatessen Supplies ltd. Because of the success they achieved immediately with their cheese Michael and Jenny decided to take one more brave step by entering it for the UK's Great Taste Awards. "The Great Taste Awards is the most trusted and recognized food and drink awards with each entry receiving feedback from a panel of over 300 judges. "For the sake of the feedback itself Jenny and I saw the awards as an opportunity we simply couldn't afford to miss as it was going to help us improve and refine our product even if it was not awarded a coveted star," he says. "Jenny and I are very proud of what we have achieved to date. We realise that success comes from hard work and sheer dedication, not to mention constantly achieving high standards and reaching for goals, that even we believe to be challenging when we set them for ourselves, but the rewards are magnificent. "We consider working on our goat farm a privilege and thoroughly enjoy everything that it has brought to our lives, most specially being able to live and farm in a very special part of County Meath," he says.