Who needs French cheese? We've got British Brie! Cheesemonger reveals the UK's top alternatives to France and Italy's soft cheeses after 'overzealous' border officials' import ban
One Marylebone retailer and distributor of artisan cheese told The Times how fans of 'all the lovely, soft cow's milk cheeses like Camembert and brie' will soon struggle to purchase their favourites because 'everywhere will be slowly running out of stock'.
A surge in cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) among cattle in the continental nations has prompted UK health officials to halt the importation of unpasteurised dairy products produced any time after May 23.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the ban was to protect the health of UK animals from disease, but critics and importers have labelled the move as 'overkill'.
Thankfully for cheese lovers, the UK has a host of alternatives that will delight the taste buds just as well as any mozzarella, Camembert or French brie could, according to Louise Allen, a leading cheese expert at Whole Foods Market.
Speaking to FEMAIL, she revealed the ultimate guide to the UK's top cheeses that could replace their French and Italian counterparts.
The list includes the best alternatives for French brie and Camembert, as well as Italian soft cheese, such as Robiola di Roccaverano.
Options to try include Rosary goat cheese, from Wiltshire, and Stinking Bishop, from Gloucestershire. Read on for Louise's full list...
Brie & Camembert replacements
1. Tunworth (Hampshire): A luscious, bloomy-rind cheese with a creamy, gooey texture. Modelled after Camembert but with more body and unique British depth.
Best replacement for: Camembert de Normandie (France). Tunworth is arguably the UK's finest Camembert-style cheese, offering a similarly gooey, mushroom-scented interior with nuanced rind ripeness, and made with pasteurised milk for regulatory compliance.
2. Croxton Manor West Country English Brie (Somerset): Creamy ripening brie, made using pasteurised Cow's milk.
Best replacement for: Brie de Meaux (France). While less pungent than the raw milk Brie de Meaux, Croxton Manor delivers a smooth, creamy profile that makes it a reliable, regulation-safe substitute for soft-ripened French brie.
3. Baron Bigod (Suffolk): Suffolk-born, traditional Brie-style cheese balances a clean lactic brightness with mushroomy, vegetal notes.
Best replacement for: Brie de Melun (France). Baron Bigod's earthy rind, rich paste, and traditional raw milk production match the intensity and ripeness of Brie de Melun more than mild commercial bries. It offers depth and traditional character.
Taleggio replacements
4. Wigmore (Berkshire): Made from sheep's milk using washed-curd techniques, it has milder acidity with clean, sweet tones – similar terroir to mountain-style semi-soft cheeses.
Best replacement for: Robiola di Roccaverano (Italy) or Tomme de Brebis (France). Wigmore's gentle sweetness and smooth paste echo the delicate flavour and creamy texture of these traditional sheep's milk cheeses.
Washed-rind blends replacements
5. Rollright (Gloucestershire): A semi soft, washed rind cheese wrapped in a spruce band. The UKs answer to Vacherin.
Best replacement for: Vacherin Mont d'Or (France/Switzerland). Like Vacherin, Rollright is spoonable when ripe, with savoury, piney notes. A standout seasonal soft cheese.
6. Oxford Isis (Oxford): Strong, sticky washed rind cheese.
Best replacement for: Époisses de Bourgogne (France). Oxford Isis delivers the same bold aroma, gooey interior as Époisses. Ideal for fans of intense, spoonable cheeses.
7. Stinking Bishop (Gloucestershire): A washed-rind powerhouse celebrated for its creamy interior and pungent aromatic punch, suitable for lovers of strong, earthy soft cheeses.
Best replacement for: Munster (France) or Taleggio (Italy). Stinking Bishop's oozy, savoury centre makes it a natural stand-in for these European cheeses, with that same earthy depth.
The best UK goat cheeses for Camembert and brie fans
8. Capricorn (Somerset): Semi-hard English goat cheese with a sweet, nutty flavour.
Best replacement for: Tomme de Chèvre (France) or Formaggella di Capra (Italy). Capricorn's mellow profile mirrors these continental cheeses' subtle complexity.
9. Brightwell Ash (Carmarthenshire): Ash-coated English goat cheese with a delicate, tangy flavour.
Best replacement for: Selles-sur-Cher or Valençay (France). Brightwell Ash emulates these Loire Valley classics due to its ash-ripened rinds, lactic brightness, and gentle mineral tang.
10. Dorstone (Herefordshire): Ash-coated, crumbly goat cheese from England with a fresh, citrusy flavour.
Best replacement for: Crottin de Chavignol or Charolais (France). Dorstone shares its crumbly texture, and fresh acidity, making it a perfect stand-in for these traditional options.
11. Rosary Goat Cheese (Wiltshire): A goat cheese for people who don't like goat cheese. Rosary has a clean, citrusy flavour without any of the 'tang' that is sometimes associated with that type of cheese. Made on the Hampshire and Wiltshire border, the pasteurised cheese is soft, fluffy with a mousse-like texture.
Best replacement for: Chabichou du Poitou (France) or Caprino Fresco (Italy). Rosary's ultra-mild, whipped texture and citrus freshness closely resemble these soft, spreadable, and approachable continental cheeses.
Italy confirmed an outbreak of LSD last month on June 21, while France confirmed its own outbreak eight days later.
Health officials slapped a ban on the importation of live animals, germplasm such as sperm and embryos, offal, raw dairy products (including cheeses) as well as skins and all by-products unless they have been heat treated.
Fresh meat is not affected by the precautionary measure, nor is pasteurised cheese - though the latter requires paperwork detailing the temperatures at which the cheese was treated to ensure it is up to scratch.
Upmarket cheese importers say their supplies are running low - and have blasted border officials for refusing to accept documents for pasteurised goods because they have been written in French and Italian rather than English.
Patricia Michelson, the founder of La Fromagerie, a Marylebone retailer and distributor of artisan cheese, is losing thousands of pounds of stock to spoilage as a result.
It supplies the finest cheeses to more than 100 upmarket restaurants including the three Michelin-starred Core.
She told The Times: 'At the moment, we can't supply all the lovely, soft cow's milk cheeses like Camembert and brie. If people think that they can get what they want now, they won't, because everywhere will be slowly running out of stock.
'From Monday (today) we will only be able to offer an English brie-style cheese.'
Simon Goddard of chilled food distributor Dornack further told the newspaper that Defra did not seem interested in helping suppliers, even when he asked what he could be doing to make importing valid goods easier.
He said: 'We're trying to keep abreast of their requirements and uploading the additional documentation, but it's still not stopping the queries and the endless delays at port.'
A Defra spokesperson told MailOnline: 'This government will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers and their herds from disease.
'We have strengthened protections by temporarily suspending imports of a small amount of products from Italy and France, following outbreaks of lumpy skin disease across Europe.
'Unpasteurised cheeses are restricted, but as most Italian cheeses, such as Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Gorgonzola, are pasteurised this should not have a significant impact on supply chains.'
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