For a decade and a half, Susan Fiander-Woodhouse has been maturing her prize-winning cheeses in an old mine near her shop. The innovative idea to use the historic Big Pit as a cheese-aging chamber was born from her ambition to weave the narrative of her town into the very essence of her cheese.
"The miners learnt that in a 12-hour shift the flavour of their food changed underground. So we thought it would be a good place to start and trial some cheese ageing," reminisced one of Wales' most celebrated cheesemakers about her initial days on the high street of Blaenavon town that locals believe has yet to flourish despite its world heritage status and potential for economic transformation.
Susan's unique cheeses have attracted gourmands globally, but in 2021, National Museum Wales delivered a blow: she was informed that she could no longer use the mine for aging her cheese due to health and safety concerns and "difficult business decisions" that had arisen.
"I love Blaenavon," Susan told WalesOnline from her shop on Broad Street, which now seems a far cry from its portrayal at the heritage centre as a "busy commercial centre serving the needs of an industrial community". She says the town was "a Victorian masterpiece" noting its once-thriving and aesthetically pleasing character.
"We had shops for everything and the town was vibrant and beautiful. Everyone knew each other and it was an amazing place to grow up. Of course, the pits closed and the steelworks closed and the town began to die. When we got world heritage status in 2000 there was a lot of excitement, but it didn't bring the prosperity people thought it would. We thought it would bring lots of people into the town but it never really has.".
