Bath Soft Cheese Cafe at Park Farm, Kelston, are celebrating their achievement of GOLD at the Taste Of The West Awards 2024, earning them feedback such as ‘The food was delicious, it was clear that good quality, fresh ingredients had been used’ and ‘This is an excellent café, which I will definitely be visiting personally in the future.
Championing the region’s exceptional food and drink identity, Taste of the West, established in 1991, is the regional food and drink trade organisation for the South West of England. As a membership organisation, Taste of the West works to develop the region’s exceptional regional food and drink industry, and therefore the Taste of the West GOLD award is a highly prestigious accomplishment.
The Padfield Family have been farming in Kelston for four generations, and in 1993 Graham Padfield diversified from dairy farming into cheese making, and the home of Bath Soft Cheese was born. He went on to create the Wyfe of Bath in 2000, the Bath Blue in 2010 and the Merry Wyfe in 2014. All of the cheeses produced at Park Farm are award winning in their own right.
In 2020 the Bath Soft Cheese Cafe, as you know it now, was created with the intention of showcasing the delicious range of cheeses via a creative menu, as well as championing other local producers in their farm shop. Since then, the cafe has become a go-to destination for families, walkers, cyclists and, of course, cheese lovers!
2023 saw new head chef, Phil Swann, join the team, who brought his skill and creativity to the menu, with a focus on locally sourced, seasonal produce. Together with the cafe managers, Georgia Wardlow and Matt Simpson, they have expanded to develop the highly successful Slow Roast Sundays on the first Sunday of every month, and their fine dining Supper Club on the last Thursday of each month. The focus of both of these events is to showcase not just the cheese made at the farm, but also the best producers of the area. In addition to this, Bath Soft Cheese has weekly cheese tours on a Thursday and afternoon tea in the cafe from 2pm Tuesday to Friday.
There is always something exciting going on at Park Farm, the home of Bath Soft Cheese, and the next public event at the farm is their Fireworks Event on 5 November from 5.30pm to 9pm – tickets are available to book here.