Earlier this week family-owned northern food retailer Booths launched a campaign to support British artisan cheesemakers who are struggling to cope with the Covid-19 crisis. Here we’ve picked some of our favourite cheeses for a truly special spring cheeseboard

Colston Bassett Stilton, £17.00 - £24.00 per kg from The Fine Cheese Company or Neal’s Yard Dairy

Stilton is one of Britain’s best known cheeses and Colston Bassett’s version is made to a very specific recipe which gives the cheese a lovely balance of fruity notes and a creamy texture - definitely a must for our cheese board.

Finn, £7.57 per cheese paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Produced by Charlie Westhead of Neal’s Yard Creamery, Finn is a soft cheese, but not runny in the way associated with Brie or Camembert. It would be better described as firm but soft with a sweet, slightly nutty and mushroomy flavour and a distinctly salty tang.

Belton Farm Red Fox, £2.50 from Tesco & Waitrose stores

Matured for over 16 months, this crowd-pleasing aged Red Leicester has a lovely creamy texture and punchy flavour. Much more robust and complex than your usual Red Leicester.

Alsop & Walker Mayfield, £7 per 250g paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk and thefoodmarket.com

If you love continental Alpine cheeses such as Emmental, give Mayfield a go. Made from full fat pasteurised cow’s milk it has a creamy, sweet and nutty flavour, which varies in strength from mild to full dependent on age, and contains naturally developed oval shaped holes in its interior.

Village Maid Cheese Wigmore, £8.80 for 200g paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

The ultimate cheese to spread on a cracker, Wigmore is wonderfully smooth and runny. What initially looks like a Brie contains so many complex flavours within, ranging from slightly sweet to nutty to almost floral.

Delamere Dairy Mild Goat’s Cheese, £2.70 for 150g ocado.com

Mild and fresh tasting with a slight sweetness, this bright white coloured Cheddar-style hard cheese is matured for between four and six months for a defined but not overpoweringly ‘goaty’ flavour.

Appleby’s Cheshire, £7 for 230g nealsyarddairy.co.uk

Hand made at the Appleby family dairy, this traditional Cheshire is as far from the bland supermarket variety you can possibly get. Unpasteurised for extra complexity, the golden-hued cheese has a perfect balance of tangy and creamy flavours, with a wonderfully crumbly texture.

Dewlay Double Gloucester £1.49 for 250g from Aldi stores

Impress your guests by adding this golden-yellow hued classic to your spread. Dewlay’s brilliant version of the traditional British cheese has a smooth texture with buttery notes.

Golden Cenarth, £7.30 per cheese paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

This rind washed soft cheese is made in West Wales from cow’s milk, with a springy, supple texture and buttery finish. It’s washed in brine for a pungent but utterly delicious rind and an unctuous, creamy taste.

Dewlay Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese P.D.O, £3 for 240g Sainsbury’s

Lovingly crafted by the third generation cheesemakers at Dewlay, this traditional cheese is made using milk sourced from dedicated farmers near the dairy in Garstang. Creamy Lancashire is typically matured for up to six to 12 weeks for a buttery and mellow taste.

Accompaniments

Peters Yard Original and Seeded Wholegrain Crispbreads, £2.95 from Waitrose, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and independent retailers.

Peters Yard never disappoint.The company’s crisp and golden crackers are packed with flavour (due to being made with sourdough) but are still subtle enough to be paired the punchiest cheeses.

The Garlic Farm Pear & Date Chutney, £4.25 thegarlicfarm.co.uk

This versatile chutney is rich and deeply flavoured with just the right amount of spice.

The Garlic Farm Onion Marmalade with Garlic, £4.25 thegarlicfarm.co.uk

Sticky red onions and punchy garlic combine to make a beautifully well balanced relish.