Supplier spotlight: Neal’s Yard Dairy

As a family-owned and run collection, we are proud of the longstanding partnerships that we have forged with fine local purveyors across our hotels. Central to these relations is a focus on our shared values of quality, sustainability, and integrity. This is pronounced in our partnership with Neal’s Yard Dairy, a dairy supplier steeped in tradition and quintessential Britishness.

Founded in 1979 by Randolph Hodgson, an (at the time) inexperienced cheesemaker, Neal’s Yard Dairy have been supplying shops, restaurants, and people with the finest British and Irish cheese worldwide. Their aim is to consistently improve the quality of cheese, and they do so by finding and supporting people who are equally passionate about their product across every step of the production process, from the farmers that they work with to the reception of, and action on, customer reviews. This person-centred and quality-focused outlook to their business is mutually shared with us here at Red Carnation Hotels and contributes to our thriving partnership.

For Neal’s Yard Dairy, each cheese is treated and handled according to its unique requirements. This helps to protect the exceptional quality of their product. Classic variations such as the Cheshire, Lancashire, Caerphilly, or Red Leicester follow the same, traditional production techniques that have stood the test of time over centuries past. Others allow for the freedom of their makers’ creativity, channelling their ‘tastes and inventiveness’ whilst drawing inspiration from long-established European cheesemaking traditions. These cheeses are then matured in their ‘maturing arches’ in Bermondsey in South East London, just a short walk from the vibrant foodie’s paradise, Borough Market. From here, it is sold to their shops and buyers, such as us our London hotels.

By collaborating with Neal’s Yard Dairy, we can consistently ensure that the exquisite quality of our cuisine, whether it’s the cream cheese in an Afternoon Tea sandwich or the Parmesan in our Smoked Haddock and Chive Pie, retains its excellent reputation, and uphold the memorable guest experiences for which we are renowned.