Sarah-Kate Lynch has been a journalist for more than twenty years (she started, she claims, when she was seven) but far prefers making things up to trying hard not to.

She hopes one day to be able to say that she spends her time between her homes in Auckland, Dublin and New York. At this stage, however, she only has one home and that is in Auckland.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers has been described on Amazon as :

“An enchanting novel of life, love, Irish dairymaids…and cheese”

The books back cover tells us :

…In Dublin and New York she sponges off her friends like anyone else. Blessed are Corrie and Fee, for theirs is the kingdom of the world's tastiest farmhouse cheese. Tucked away in a corner of Ireland, the lifelong friends turn out batch after batch of perfect Coolarney Blues and Golds, thanks to co-operative cows, non-meat-eating fecund milkmaids, and the wind blowing just so in the right direction.

Add to this mixture Corrie's long-lost granddaughter Abbey, fresh from a remote but by no means backward island where her husband has been on a mission - although not quite the kind which Abbey had imagined. And stir in New Yorker Kit Stephens, heart-broken, burned-out and permanently hungover, and you have a recipe for disaster.

The magic that Corrie and Fee weave in and out of the cheese vats is legendary, but can they use their powers to turn bitterness and betrayal into love - or will the secret ingredient be lost to Coolarney cheese forever?

Blessed are the Cheesemakeers.jpg — Blessed are the Cheesemakers

By Sarah-Kate Lynch

Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch 3 Eggs

Twice Baked Comte Cheese Soufflé by Olivier Certain

Olivier Certain - Full of talent and imagination

This incredibly talented chef was born in Marseille making his move to Somerset in 1998 after training in a couple of Michelin Star restaurants La Bonne Etape Chateau Arnoux & Les Roches in Le Layandou ……

I wrote that sentence & then gave it a read back, just so I could let that sink in a little.

Only planning on spending a couple of years in good old Blighty, Olivier met his wife and has been sharing his amazing talents with us ever since.

After meeting and working with Andre Dixon in a hotel in Kent, he moved with him to the west country and became his second chef at Porlock Weir in Exmoor.

2006 saw Olivier make a move to Woods in Dulverton to become head chef where he led the way for them to receive two rosettes and in 2008, 2010 and 2011 being awarded Somerset Dining Pub of the year.

In 2015 another move was on the cards, this time joining Clavelshay Barn Restaurant as Head Chef a converted barn on a working farm which prided itself on its locally sourced food.

2017 saw Chef Olivier being named as Somerset Life Best Chef at the magazine’s annual Food and Drinks awards, and was a finalist in the 2018 Trenchermen’s Awards along with other finalists Michaels Caines, Josh Eggleton and Nathan Outlaw, all of which are members of the Michelin star gang.

Olivier moved to the award winning The Swan at Bampton as Head Chef in May 2018 and since July 2020, joined the Michelin-starred Masons Arms with Mark Dodson

This is by no means all of Olivier’s culinary achievements and if you want to read more, just google his name.

I know he won’t mind me saying that being a supporter of Foodie Book Club is bound to be the highlight of his career (if only that were true), and that his gift of a recipe is much appreciated.

As with all the recipes gifted by our chefs, I’ve not changed a thing, or tested it.

You can follow what Olivier is up to on his twitter account or try his Instagram page. Don’t forget to say Hi to him and if you give this recipe a go, I’m sure he’d love to see some pictures.

Me too!.

Twice baked Comte Cheese Soufflé

I have used this recipe since I worked with Andrew Dixon in Porlock weir when I moved the south west to work, this was one very popular dish

By Olivier Certain

Makes 12 good sized ramequins,

Ingredients:

90g plain flour
90g unsalted butter
180g Comte Cheese. Plus 12 cubes of the same cheese
500 ml full fat milk
8 egg yolks at room temperature
12 egg whites at room temperature
Soft butter 100g
Breadcrumbs

Method :

1_ have some soft butter and with a brush butter 12 ramequins, they need to be very well buttered then place them in the fridge or freezer for 20 mins, after that brush some butter again then place again in the fridge until needed

2-Mix the butter and the flour to crumb and eventually will make a paste like, its called beurre manier, warm the milk but don’t boil it, add the beurre manier to it and whisk until it thickens and cook it slowly for 3-4 mins to cook the flour out. Take away from the stove and add egg yolks, leave to cool down until the mixture is warm, shouldn’t be too hot or too cold

3- Take the ramequins out and butter once again, this time spoon some breadcrumbs in the ramequins and tap them so they are all coated with breadcrumbs

4- Whisk the egg whites to soft peek, put one half first and mix it gently, then fold the other half in, season with salt but be careful as the cheese is salty you shouldn’t put too much salt, tasting it before using and cooking the souffles.

Turn your oven on 180 degrees Celsius and turn fan off

5- poor one half of souffle mix in the ramequin, put 1 cube of cheese in the middle then poor more souffle mix until it reaches under the rim of the ramequin, repeat it 12 times or as many as you have ramequins for, you could always put a different cheese in the middle if you fancy

6- in a deep tray, lay a cloth at the bottom, put ramequins in, and poor hot water in the tray half way, its called a bain marie which is a French term meaning to create heat around the food and results in a uniform cooking process.

7- cook the souffles 15 mns, they will be well risen, take out and let them cool 10 mns then turn them upside down on some greaseproof paper, now the souffles have been cooked once

8- its easy to do that the day before, then the next day, place in the oven 20 ins on the palest side of the souffle until the rise again, can be done ahead for parties, etc…serve immediately with some salad. Chutney, like tomato or red onion, 1 for starter or 2 for a main course. This is always better done ahead and easy to serve, if you want to serve straight away you could 2. This recipe is so versatile and can be used with any near enough cheese, blue cheese and goats cheese, for example, will not be great with soft cheese like brie and camembert.