We chat to Jen Grimstone-Jones, Cheesemonger at Cheese Etc, The Pangbourne Cheese Shop, which is shortlisted in the Small Independent Retail of the Year category at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair Awards 2024. 

Why do you think the judges thought Cheese Etc stood out?

I think we stand out from other retailers not only because of our large range of cheese, alongside other specialist food items, but also we are quite unusual in that we are situated in a small, rural village whereas most specialist food shops tend to be in towns and cities.

Pangbourne is a beautiful place and we love being here. Within the shop itself, we pride ourselves on our great, old fashioned, customer service that we give to our customers. Knowledge of our products is also important, I am a Fellow of the Academy of Cheese and I am always looking to learn more about cheese. I am a true curd nerd!

What does it mean to you to be an independent retailer?

The shop is owned by me and my wife. Most weeks I am in the shop 6 days out of 7 because I love being there. I like to think our passion for our shop, products and for life in general really stands out. We can offer a personal service because we make the decisions and we can make things happen for people. We might not have the buying power of the bigger supermarkets but what we do offer is a varied and unique range of local, national and international products.

What do you think your customers love most about Cheese Etc?

We are at the heart of our small community and our local customers are incredibly supportive of us. We try and greet people by name, we watch their children growing up and we’re here for them through the good times as well as the bad. We offer a local shopping service for our less mobile customers, we will go to other shops in the village, pick up items for them and drop it off at the door with no charge apart from the goods being bought. We will always put our customers first.

What’s your approach to sourcing new food & drink?

I am very lucky in that I get invited to judge at some of the largest cheese awards in the world. This means I get to try new and seasoned cheeses as well as having the opportunity to chat to other judges, many of whom are either cheese retailers or cheesemakers.

My wife, Ali, is a Great Taste Award judge and so she also gets to experience a huge range of products. If anything stands out for either of us we can eventually discover who’s behind it (even if it’s only once the awards are announced!) We also spend our ‘free’ time visiting local markets to find new suppliers and when we are further afield we always visit the local independent shops to see what’s available elsewhere. As we’ve become more well-known we also get small producers contacting us to see if we will try their products with a view to selling them in the shop.

Cast your vote for the winning Independent Retailer, New Product of the Year, and more at specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk/speciality-fine-food-fair-awards-2024.