Let's get Filthy!...
The Truckle Truck is expanding!
This is a plan that has been in the works for a while - almost 18 months, in fact! The idea: to build a mini food truck and serve up two great Après-ski classics - Raclette and Tartiflette - at festivals and events. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, but while we waited the very special delivery, there was plenty to be getting on with.
Building a brand is as much about it's image as what it sells, and I was very lucky to work with the artist who created the now-iconic designs for Feltham's Farm cheeses. After much back and forth, Jem nailed my rather vague brief and introduced a wonderfully cheesey chap (inspired by a friend's miniature Schnauser, Bowie).
Then in August Pepé finally arrived...
Susie's mini-me!
We weren't quite over the hiccups yet - a few technical issues held things up until Christmas was looming so I put things on hold until the New Year. We finally hit the road with a trial run in May and Filthy Cheese was officially launched in June!
For now, we'll be slinging oozy raclette and tartiflette outside Shaftesbury Town Hall every third Thursday evening, with more spots to come soon.
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A little bit about our suppliers:
We use local producers wherever possible. These will usually include:
Kenson's Organic Farm - Hugh and Liz run their seasonal, fully organic farm in Sutton Mandeville (near Tisbury) and supply us with potatoes, onions and herbs.
Montgomery's Cheese - the Montgomery family are known for their traditional Cheddar but also produce a raclette cheese - Ogle Shield - with milk from their small herd of Jersey cattle.
The Real Cure - James Smart and his team make award-winning charcuterie in Hartgrove, just outside Shaftesbury, using locally reared pork and dorset venison to make our pancetta, coppa and salami.
We do use a French Reblochon de Savoie for our tartiflette, as nothing else quite comes close! From time to time we will also have a special Raclette from our Swiss cheese suppliers (Jumi Cheese and Kaseswiss). This might be laced with Wild Garlic or Peppercorns, smoked or even blue, but will always be served alongside our classic Ogle Shield raclette.
Tarti-whatsit?
If you've never had the joy of digging into a dish of hot potatoes, bacon and onion covered with molten cheese, you're in for a treat!
First mentioned in the 18th century, the dish as we know it now became popular in the 1980s, when a marketing campaign featured it to boost sales of Reblochon de Savoie (check out the wonderful history of the cheese here!). It's simple enough - diced potatoes are cooked with lardons and onions then layered with slices of Reblochon cheese and baked.
Now a staple of the Après-ski table, it's hearty and satisfying and sinfully delicious!