My name is Kate O’Meara and I have a background in both hospitality and retail and created The Cheese Society in 1997 at the beginning of the internet era. Originally we sold difficult to obtain, farmhouse, mainly unpasteurised cheese purely by mail order to individuals and trade customers from our warehouse in Lincoln. As the business expanded, I bought the property in St Martins Lane in Lincoln in 2001, opened the cheese shop and added a ‘cheese cafe’, which at the time was the first in the UK, consisting of an entirely cheese-based menu. Over the years, I have judged at many cheese awards and shows both in Britain and abroad, which has presented me with the opportunity to seek out new cheeses and meet a huge array of different cheesemakers.
My daughter, Lucie joined the business in 2016, becoming part of our trained team of knowledgeable cheesemongers, and bringing with her a strong design background and an inherited love of cheese! She has worked on improving our website and has made buying cheese online so much easier and approachable.
The Cheese Society shop and cafe is still housed in the same building to this day and has evolved over time, becoming a firm favourite and popular destination for locals and cheese lovers from far and wide. Cheese is our passion and we aim to obtain the best products possible to share with our customers both online and in the shop.
Awards
2019 – Runner Up Best Independent Retailer – Observer Food Monthly Awards
2018 – Winner of Cheese Shop of the Year in the UK – The Guild of Fine Food
2017 – Top Ten Cheese Subscriptions – The Independent
2016 – Cheese Counter of the Year in the UK (2nd place) – Le Gruyere
