A TAVISTOCK cheese shop has beaten 300 companies to take the title of best cheese retailer in England, writes Alison Stephenson.

The award, sponsored by dairy industry giant Dairy Crest and the Grocer magazine, went to Country Cheeses, which won the regional award last year.

Gary Jungheim, who runs the shop with his wife Elise, said he was feeling ?shell shocked? at winning what he described as an Oscar of the cheese world.

?It is really quite something to be voted for by your peers,? he said. ?We love what we do but it is great when someone from the industry takes notice.

?We were up against entries which stock cheeses from across the world but our Westcountry cheeses have effectively beaten them.?

The Jungheims sell more than 100 handmade cheeses from the Westcountry, including their very own ?Little Stinky?, ?Celeste? and ?Trehill and Devon Sage.?

They ventured into the cheese business 12 years ago, when Gary?s mum, the late Hazel Clarke set up a stall in Tavistock Pannier Market with half a dozen cheeses.

?We lived near a cheese maker but found that it was very difficult to actually buy local cheese in the shops,? he said. ?My mum thought it was about time our good foods were promoted, so we progressed to a unit on the side of the market before moving into the shop.?

Gary and Elise say the people of Tavistock have been wonderfully supportive of their business.

?The customers give us the chance to sell lots of different cheeses because they are so experimental,? added Elise.

?They are really into their food in this area.?

The award judges visited Country Cheeses to check out its displays, quality of cheese and product knowledge and found its quirky, passionate and informative service was second to none.

More than 300 entries whittled down to just three specialist shops, one in each region, Southern, Midlands and Northern.

For seven years, Country Cheeses has been voted a favourite with customers of Country Living magazine and came runner up in an award run by BBC Good Food Magazine.

?We came second to Neal?s Yard Dairy in London but I don?t mind being runner-up to them,? said Gary.

?We have a lot of enthusiasm and I think the judges like that. We try to impart that on the customers and each of the cheeses has a story to tell ? cheese makers are an interesting bunch of people.

?I am not a very good salesman but I tell people what I enjoy and that seems to do the business.?