It's been Britain's favourite cheese for more than 900 years but now shoppers have made history by creating the UK's first ever commercially produced bespoke cheddar.

The move came after Tesco called on customers and a leading British cheese producer, Parkham Farms, to help create a Cheddar cheese to delight and satisfy the palates of today's cheese lovers.

After researching cheese flavour profiles and reviewing cheese-making techniques with the West Country cheesemaker, the retailer has come up with what it believes is the best tasting mature and extra mature own brand Cheddar cheese in the UK.

For centuries milder tasting cheddar was the most popular variety in the UK but recently the stronger mature and extra mature varieties have taken over as shoppers' favourites.

Taste trials with more than 150 customers revealed what they now look for in a Cheddar cheese:

• Mature- a more rounded, deeper flavour with a slight sweetness and a creamier taste
• Extra Mature- a greater burst of flavour but with a slight sweetness and creamy taste

“For over 50 years spicier foods have become more common in our diets, and as our taste buds have acclimatised to the flavours, we see that customers now have a hankering for a deeper and more complex taste profile for their cheese.

“Involving some of our customers in the cheese-making process has been really helpful. They obviously have great taste – as both varieties have won gold medals at two major cheese events and demand has continued to soar.”

Tesco's Extra Mature Cheddar won Gold at the British Cheese Awards in June 2017 and Silver at the International Cheese Awards held at the Nantwich Show this week while the Tesco Mature Cheddar won Gold at the Devon County Show, in May 2017.

Since the new cheeses launched last autumn demand for Tesco's Extra Mature has rocketed by 40 per cent while Tesco Mature has grown by six per cent.

According to retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel, demand across the UK market in the last five years for mild and medium strength cheddar has fallen by five per cent while sales of mature and extra mature have grown by 11 per cent.

The Mature and Extra Mature Cheddars are made by Parkham Farm, on the North Devon coast, where the Willis family have over 30 years of cheddar-making experience.

The 1500-acre Parkham Farm has a fine heritage; a close-knit family business specialising in fine cheeses made from milk produced on the farm itself, using traditional creamery methods.

Apricot lovers are in for the sweetest of summers this year, after Tesco announced it expects a record amount of English-grown apricots to be available in its stores over the summer season.

Apricots flourish in continental climates with cold winters,  but without spring frosts. So traditionally they have grown in countries like Spain, France, Morocco, Turkey and Iran.

Tesco were the first UK retailer to start selling English grown apricots and started working on a production partnership with one of the UK's largest stone fruit producers from Kent back in 2010.

With the first of the season's English apricots about to hit Tesco stores this week, there's great news with an incredible 180 tonnes expected to be picked over the summer- the largest amount ever grown in the UK.

Tesco stone fruit buyer Karen Bee said:

“Apricots are fast becoming one of the summer fruits of choice across the UK. Bursting with flavour, our English apricots are really sweet, have a beautiful orange blush and are firm yet juicy – everything that a classic apricot should be.

“The English variety are every bit as good as imported apricots and joins the ranks of British strawberries, cherries, apples and pears , as some of the best quality and tasting fruit grown in the world.

“The arrival of great quality English apricots over the last few years has helped  to invigorate the demand for this stone fruit.”

In the last year UK demand for apricots has rocketed by an unprecedented 75 per cent, making it one of Britain's most in demand fruits.

Apricot trees still need a lot of sunshine and as a result all the production at the moment is in the southern counties, with growers based either in Kent or the Isle of Wight.

Until the late noughties English apricot production was not thought possible because of our cooler temperatures.

But the arrival on the market of apricot cultivars or tree hybrids bred especially for climates like the UK's, that would flower later in the spring, have made English apricot production possible.

Nigel Bardsley, of Bardsley Farms in Kent, a partner supplier to Tesco and the UK's largest apricot grower said:

“This year we have had pretty much perfect growing conditions with a cool winter needed to allow the trees to rest, a warm spring and lots of summer sunshine with a bit of rain in between.”

The number of UK producers commercially growing apricots has doubled in recent years to eight.

As the festival season approaches, Waitrose will be holding a Summer Festival of its own from 18th-20th August at Leckford Estate in Hampshire, the supermarket's farm. While enjoying food, drink, music and a variety of activities, visitors will also be able to learn about the 4,000-acre Leckford Estate. The estate grows and produces a wide range of items for Waitrose, including milk, mushrooms, fruit, flour, rapeseed oil and grapes for the supermarket's own Leckford Estate sparkling English wine.

As well as hosting the first Waitrose Summer Festival, the supermarket will also be setting up stall at popular festivals throughout the summer, bringing an array of delicious food and drink to festival goers; including Camp Bestival - 27th to 30th July and The Big Feastival 25th to 27th August (Waitrose also attended Cornbury Festival last weekend).

Rupert Ellwood, Head of Marketing, Waitrose, said : “We are delighted to be hosting the Waitrose Festival, bringing everything that we're famous for into one place. From the very best food, to our knowledgeable Partners and the passion of our producers, we wanted to show customers what it is that makes Waitrose special. We are proud supporters of British farming and our farm at Leckford Estate is the perfect venue to showcase this.

We also wanted to share a taste of Waitrose with other festival goers who may not have shopped with us before by setting up camp for the first time at a few of this year's popular summer festivals. It's a great opportunity to share our love of good food and drink and make Waitrose the best destination for summer eating."

Waitrose Summer Festival

Showcasing British produce, the Waitrose Summer Festival will bring together Waitrose producers, celebrity chefs and experts to showcase the very best food and drink.  Open to the public, the festival will feature a food and drink village with an array of pop-ups, including Good Food Guide recommended restaurants and foodie favourites such as sushi, stonebaked pizza and artisan cheese. Visitors will also be offered the chance to sample some of Heston Blumenthal's summer sizzlers in a Heston from Waitrose pub-style pop-up.

The Waitrose Summer Festival will play host to a number of special guests including Martha Collison, Tom and Henry Herbert, Ching-He Huang and previous MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker. Guests can attend workshops, and food demonstrations, see seasonal recipes being created, and find out about the latest food trends. More top names from the food and health industry will be announced in due course.

There will also be tours of the farm with the opportunity to learn about where Waitrose produce comes from and how it's grown.  Guests can also enjoy a range of delicious food and drink from Waitrose producers too, who will be on hand, ready to share their expertise and knowledge, along with tastings of their delicious food and drink.

Looking for the next big thing? Whether buying for retail, foodservice or wholesale; there is no better place to discover what will be shaping the fine food industry than at Speciality & Fine Food Fair.

The Fair's new Discovery Zone is a real opportunity to uncover what new brands and trends are emerging. This is a dedicated area for up and coming food and drink businesses which have been trading in the UK for less than 36 months.

Many new products being showcased in the zone this year are focused on health. It's not just about the ingredients that are in them but what's not too; with many claiming to have no added sugar, no gluten and no artificial flavours and colours. Natural food and drink is on trend too, along with a penchant for all things nutty and products featuring flavours from around the globe.

Kara Bowen, Event Manager, said: "Buyers and decision makers looking for the latest fine food and drink need look no further than Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017. For those looking for innovative trends and brands breaking through, the new Discovery Zone is a must see. From what we are seeing so far, health and wellbeing is heavily influencing the new products being launched this year but luxury, both in terms of ingredients and packaging, is just as important."

Waitrose has today announced it will be extending its commitment to Fairtrade produce by making 100% of its own-label tea Fairtrade certified by October 2017.

This will mean all 46 Waitrose tea products will be Fairtrade, which clearly symbolises to customers that the tea farmers are benefiting from good working conditions, a fair deal and funds to spend on their local community. Farmers can choose how to spend the Fairtrade Premium generated - whether on developing their business or on community projects such as schools, health clinics or leisure facilities.

Forty-three of Waitrose's own-label tea products are already Fairtrade certified with the exception of its three Earl Grey tea lines, which will complete the conversion in October.

Rupert Thomas, Commercial Director at Waitrose, said:

“We're proud supporters of the Fairtrade Foundation and have seen first-hand their strong track record of supporting farmers who most need it.

“We've found that our customers are extremely loyal towards Fairtrade products and appreciate our long-standing and continued commitment - it highlights the investment in and support for the people, communities and businesses that produce our food.”

Emma Mullins, Tea Supply Chain Manager at Fairtrade Foundation, said:

“This move means all Waitrose's own label black and green tea will be 100% Fairtrade. This is fantastic news that will help improve the lives of some of the poorest tea farmers in China, who have previously invested their Fairtrade Premium in schools, sanitation, and tea quality and productivity projects, benefiting farmers and the wider community.

“Congratulations to Waitrose for taking another vital step in making their supply chains sustainable and making a great cup of tea even greater.”

The retailer currently stocks 250 Fairtrade-certified products. 100% of its own-label speciality sugars are certified Fairtrade, along with the majority of its own-label block chocolate, including its Waitrose 1 Indian Ocean Bar with Coconut, which was recently awarded the much-coveted Gold award in the 2017 Academy of Chocolate Awards. Waitrose was also the first retailer to switch 100% of its bananas to Fairtrade in 2007.

Waitrose first committed to the Fairtrade Foundation in 2007 and both work collaboratively to share best practice, experiences and a joint ambition to build upon their sustainable supply chain models.

City of Wolverhampton’s inaugural Festival of Food and Drink has been hailed a huge success by organisers – and will return next year on July 7 and 8.

More than 18,500 people attended the event in the heart of the city centre on Saturday and Sunday after snapping up free tickets.

Families revelled in the sunshine off Wulfruna Street, with a wide range of food and drink available alongside live music, an open-air cinema, Champagne/Prosecco bar, and traditional fairground games across both days.

Organiser William Power of Street Banquet and Director of E11EVEN GROUP, said: “It was a great event. We almost doubled our anticipated attendance and I am absolutely over the moon with its success.

“The way the city embraced the festival is astonishing and I would like to personally thank City of Wolverhampton Council for all of their support.

“It shows the ambition of the council for the city and to attract people to the city. No one I have worked with before in their first festival year has ever got close to these numbers.

“The Wolverhampton businesses seized the opportunity to work with national street food vendors; the best street food was available - and will be again next year. Put the date in your diaries now.”

Visitor comments included ‘it was family friendly, multi-cultural, and there was a fabulous choice of authentic food at reasonable prices’, ‘this event had a really good feel about it, like being at Notting Hill Carnival’, and ‘I was blown away, we need more events like this - it’s fabulous’.

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “I am delighted the flagship event of our Visit the City of Wolverhampton programme has been so successful.

“It is another example of Wolverhampton putting itself on the map and it also illustrates why we were recently named as one of the top three UK cities to raise a family.”

Around 1,000 visitors chose to pay on the gate at the festival, which resulted in £1,000 going to the chosen charities of Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Elias Mattu, and the other half to event costs.

Mayor Mattu said: “I’m tremendously proud of holding our first festival of food and drink which has bought so many new visitors to the city and given residents an opportunity to have a fabulous family day out.

“I’d like to thank the promoter for his kind donation and for everyone involved in making the weekend an occasion to remember.”