Laviston Farmhouse Cheese

Kilkenny is Ireland’s craft centre, and the county offers craft lovers the chance to embark on a seriously good tour of talented craftspeople. But food lovers aren’t neglected either, so start with Olivia Goodwillie’s fantastic Lavistown Cheese, made on the farm a few miles outside the city.

The cheese is pale white, and somewhat in the style of a Caerphilly. It has a delightful crumbly cleanness and a buttermilky sharpness. Best of all, as a true artisan cheese it is delightfully variable throughout the year: no two Lavistowns are ever quite the same. There is no other cheese like Lavistown.

Olivia also makes some of the most distinctive sausages you will find, cylinders of the purest pork with delicate seasoning. You will find these for sale locally in Shortis Wong, in The Gourmet Store, and they feature on the menu in The Design Centre and in Café Sol. And, don’t overlook the excellent courses which the Goodwillies run at Lavistown, everything from flower painting to mushroom hunts.

(Lavistown, Co Kilkenny Tel: (056) 65145, courses@lavistown.ie, lavistown.ie)