The place

Cheese at Leadenhall is the first of its type in the concept of combining a cheese shop and wine bar. In the heart of the City, it’s perfectly placed to be a retreat from the relentless office toil.

One of Bishopsgate’s best kept secrets, this café and wine bar exudes charm and understated sophistication. To secure a spot at the wine bar, call the friendly barman. You could even impress your companion by ordering a bottle of wine and some nibbles in advance.

The people

Owner and founder - Sue Cloke

For several years, Sue ran Harvey Nichols’ cheese department, and previously Paxton and Whitfield, London’s most famous cheese shop in Jermyn Street. Sue is an expert on European cheeses, especially of the artisan, unpasturised variety. She can explain the taste and origin of cheeses with minimal fuss, bags of professionalism, and lots of fun.

When she is not being the Duchess of Cheese at Leadenhall (as her team affectionately call her), Sue judges at the British Cheese Awards and the World Cheese Awards, where she has regularly spotted the winner well in advance!

Sue is always happy to answer all queries cheese-related, and is a bit of an expert when it comes to sourcing all manner of foodie goods.

Favourite cheese: Comte “…for its nuttiness and complexity”
Favourite wine: Zinfandel Old Vines, Turley, Napa Valley “…as it has depth, lots of rich, plummy flavours and goes brilliantly with different styles of cheese”

Find out more about Sue’s love - and knowledge - of cheese on LBC radio. Download “Cheese and Wine Anyone?” from here: http://lbc.audioagain.com/ Look at the Bill Buckley - Food & Drink Show on 2 August 2009.

Wine Manager – Tom Moseley

A solicitor in a past life, Tom has been working in the wine trade for 10 years and is a qualified wine educator. He has been lucky enough to taste many delicious wines from right across the world and has sold to private clients as well as to the sommeliers of some of London’s best-loved bars and restaurants. Tom has therefore built up an extensive knowledge of wine which he is keen to enthuse to customers at Cheese.

Tom can be found sourcing exciting new wines to add to our list, running one of Cheese’s wine events or teaching classes at the brand new Wine School.

Favourite cheese: Appenzeller “for its intense, lingering flavour”
Favourite wine: Maturing red Burgundy “for the alluring combination of  red berried fruit and forest floor character”

Barman - Harry Crabb

Harry has served food and drink in three continents for more than 20 years. He has worked the full gamut – from chucking out drunken punters in a flea-pit in Hong Kong to serving champagne to botoxed-babes in LA.

His favourite wines? Reds are definitely Pinotage from South Africa: whites, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Best ever cheese is Gratte-Paille. His dream dinner party would have Arsene Wenger as Guest of Honour, with Goldie Hawn and Jeremy Clarkson and his beautiful wife cooking the food. Harry, of course, would sort out the cheese and wine.

Chef - Matthew Bradshaw

As a young apprentice chef in London, Matthew trained at Quaglino’s with Martin Webb and John Torode. Still keen to learn his trade, he was enticed by the exotic flavours and innovative cooking techniques of the southern hemisphere. He particularly enjoyed the atmosphere and culinary diversity of Melbourne, and spent some time as one of the chefs at Langton’s, a restaurant and fine wine auction house, where he polished his skills and embraced new methods of cooking. On arriving back in London he was employed as a private chef, creating diverse menus. He brings all of this experience to Cheese, where his aim is to introduce some creative and seasonal dishes to the City along side exceptional cheese-inspired dishes. We hope you come  to sample his food soon.

Favourite cheese: Matthew is a fan of triple cream cheeses, especially Gratte Paille
Favourite wine: Rioja Reserva, for “its mature, warming flavours and its velvety texture”

Assistant manager - Francesca Arti

Francesca became involved in the food industry in the early nineties when she ran a franchise of delis. She then went on to manage the cheese counter in Harvey Nichols, working with her colleague Sue Cloke. She has been working at Cheese since day one, and has assisted in building the business.

Favourite cheese: Quickes Mature cheddar… “as you can eat it at anytime, and use in any dish” and Roquefort… “for the strong, salty tang”
Favourite wine: Malbec… “full-bodied, smooth easy-drinking”

Cafe, bar, communications - Lou Beegan

Lou combines her love of food and wine with a passion for entertaining.  Having left university with no career in mind, she moved to London and became a technical writer.  During her spare time, she began hosting ever more extravagant dinner parties and bringing the great Scottish tradition of Burns Supper to an urban setting.  Lou gave up the day job and became a caterer. Seeking to specialise, she found Cheese and is now perfecting her cheese and wine presentation skills,  as well as working on the communications side of the business. She also runs Bite Entertainment, a boutique catering service.

Favourite cheese: Godminster vintage cheddar … “my current favourite as it really delivers an old-world cheddar flavour with a lot of bite!”
Favourite wine: Petit Verdot, Argentina  …“maligned grape transformed into magical wine ”

Back to Top