It’s fitting that Phillip Wilton’s name rhymes with Stilton. He is, after-all, a cheese obsessive.
As the founder of Wildes Cheese, an award-winning micro-dairy in North London, that’s no bad thing.
“I’ve always been passionate about cheese. I’ve eaten cheese all over. I’ve spent far too much money on it,” he admits.
Wilton adds some levity to his business, giving his cheeses quirky names, like, “the smelly one” and “the drunk.”
Before he “saw the light and became a cheese monger,” he worked as a management consultant. Since leaving his former life, he hasn’t looked back.
“It’s not a spreadsheet, it’s not a Powerpoint presentation. It’s real food, and I’m proud of that,” Wilton says of his product. He gives CNN some advice on setting up shop.
Prepare to do it all
Wilton says that when you own your own business, there’s no room for being a diva.
“I am everything in my business, from cheese maker to floor mopper-upper, to accountant,” he says.
You can make something from (almost) nothing
Making cheese doesn’t have to be complicated, says Wilton.
“You know, it’s going to sound really odd, but cheese is the last alchemy, isn’t it?” he muses.
“You take a product called milk — that’s it, milk — and at the end of a period of time, you could have 40, 50, 60… hundreds of different cheeses. I mean, what’s not to love about that magic?” he asks.
It’s a lot of work, so make sure you love it
When he thought of striking out on his own, the one bit of advice Wilton says he heard the most was, “do something you’re passionate about.”
“Clearly, I’m passionate about eating,” he says. “So we looked at a few things. We looked at brewing, cake making, bread making… I wanted something you could point at, be proud of, and say, ‘this is what I am. This is what I’ve done.'”