St Helena is made by Blake Bowden for St Jude Cheese, using raw cow’s milk sourced from one family farm in Norfolk.
Blake Bowden joined Julie Cheyney of St Jude Cheese in 2018 after having worked in the cheese industry in the United States and then in London at Neal’s Yard Dairy. He began developing the St Helena during the pandemic after being inspired by a Saint Nectaire in Auvergne, France. Blake works very closely with Julie Cheyney to seasonally adjust the recipe and cheesemaking process to accommodate the changing milk.
In 2025, St Jude Cheese moved site from Fen Farm in Suffolk and began working with Burrough’s family farm in Wheatacre, on the edge of the Norfolk Broads. The family has farmed 1000 acres of farmland for 80 years and have been passionate breeders of the British Friesian dairy cow, but also include Brown Swiss and Ayreshires within their herd. Their shared commitment to animal welfare made them the perfect choice to supply Julie’s milk.
St Jude Cheese always make their cheeses within two hours of the cows being milked and every cheese is handmade. Julie believes in low intervention cheesemaking, treating the milk with care and allowing the raw milk’s qualities to shine.
The stage of lactation, the cow’s diet, and the time of year all affect the final flavour and texture of the cheese, one of the great joys of a true farmhouse, raw milk cheese. In the winter, the cheese is much more buttery, with a complex flavour profile, while in the summer, the cheese is fresh, vegetal and grassy.
