Frequently Asked Questions:-
Do you have a minimum order?
No, but delivery is FREE over £50.00! Under that amount, the cost is £8.95 We send our packages out via a courier on guaranteed next day delivery, unless you live in a remote area (see below).
Do you deliver to any other countries?
At present we only deliver to the UK Mainland for £8.95 (FREE over £50.00!) We can send packages offshore to Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Northern Ireland, but there may be an additional postage charge. Please send through your enquiry and we shall be very happy to quote a price for you.
What days do you Dispatch Orders?
Orders are dispatched Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays for next day delivery*. The courier can deliver Saturday morning but there is a surcharge of £14.00
How long will my delivery take?
UK deliveries are guaranteed next day* unless you live in a remote location where deliveries will be 1 to 2 days.
An important point about Next Day Delivery!
*We always do our best to offer a next day delivery service, but we are a small independent shop not a huge conglomerate! There will inevitably be times when, however diligent we try to be in keeping the website up to date, certain items go out of stock. Typically, we tend to sell more cheese "over the counter" on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and this can lead to a situation where if you are ordering on a Monday for a Tuesday delivery, we simply do not have the cheese in stock - it may take until the Wednesday for some items to come back into stock.
If next day delivery is vital to you, I would suggest that you contact the shop on 015242 73005 after placing the internet order to ensure that we can meet your requirements. We will always try to do our best to help!
How are my orders packed?
All products are bubble wrapped with ice packs and are packed within a sturdy Churchmouse Cheeses gift box.
Is the amount shown on checkout what I will be charged?
Most of our cheese is cut from large truckles by hand, every effort is made to cut as near to your requested amount, but this is not always possible, if we cut slightly less you will be charged less if we over cut you will be charged slightly more. We never undercut or over cut by large amounts.
How much can I order for the delivery price of £8.95?
The package has to weigh under 15kgs, which is an awful lot of cheese! Why not club together with friends or relatives and put in one order, so the cost of delivery is reduced.
Some of your cheeses are shown as suitable for Vegetarians, can you please explain?
Cheeses that are suitable for Vegetarians are made using a plant extract for the rennet instead of animal rennet.
I am pregnant, can I still eat cheese?
The Chief Medical Officer suggests you should avoid both pasteurised and unpasteurised Soft and Blue cheeses whilst pregnant.
Do I have to be at home to take delivery?
No, you do not have to be at home. If you think there may be a chance that no-one will be home that day, please let us know where the delivery company can leave the package safely e.g. in a porch, on the back step, in the shed, with a neighbour etc. We try to avoid packages being returned to the depot if we can.
Can I order for delivery at a later date?
Yes, let us know at checkout when you require your goods and we will make sure they are despatched in time.
Is the site secure so I can send you my credit card details?
Yes, we use VeriSign as our SSL (Secure Socket Layer) digital certificate provider, providing our customers with the strongest certificate services available.
Do you send packages as gifts?
Yes, we do. Please send any additional notes with your order e.g. if you want a Birthday card putting in the package or a note of any kind. If we know beforehand that the package is a gift, we will send the credit card slip separately to the package.
What if my questions are not posted here?
Please email us and we will be only happy to deal with your request. info@churchmousecheeses.com
Wedding Cake Cheese Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS A CHEESE WEDDING CAKE?
It's not a cheesecake. It consists of several cheeses arranged one above the other in the same way that the tiers of a traditional wedding cake are arranged. To make it look like a traditional cake, round cheeses of varying diameters are used. We have now been producing these cakes since 2002, when we first opened our shop in Kirkby Lonsdale
WHY CHEESE?
These cakes are suitable for anyone who would prefer a savoury cake or who would like a cheese course at their wedding in addition to the usual type of cake. They are also quite funky and unusal and certainly a talkihng point! Once the cake has been cut, it can be served as part of the evening buffet.
MY WEDDING FOOD IS BEING PROVIDED BY A HOTEL/CATERERS
Most venues are happy for us to supply a cheese cake as a confectioner would normally supply the traditional wedding cake. Most venues have a "walk in" fridge where the cheese can be stored at a cool temperature beforehand - IT IS HOWEVER YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THAT THE HOTEL IS IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU PROVIDING YOUR OWN CHEESE WEDDING CAKE! AS I SAY, MOST VENUES ARE FINE WITH THIS BUT OCCASIONALLY YOU WILL RECEIVE A FLAT NO FROM A HOTEL OR RESTAURANT AND WE CANNOT AND DO NOT WISH TO GET INVOLVED WITH ARGUING WITH THE VENUE ABOUT THIS.
HOW MUCH CHEESE DO I NEED?
We normally recommend 100g of cheese per person (3.5oz) which means in theory that if you have 100 guests you will need a 10kg cake and so on! A small number of guests may not eat any cheese (in the UK, approx 14% of people do not eat cheese) but other guests will eat much more than 100g so from our experience of providing cheeseboards for large functions please allow 100g per person to be sure you have sufficient quantities. In terms of cost our cakes work out at roughly £1.70 to £2.00 per head; very reasonable when compared to an iced cake or a chocolate cake. If you need to feed 60 guests a suitable cake would cost about £102-£120, for 80 guests about £136-£160 etc. Forty guests is about the minimum sized cake so if you have fewer than that we would suggest a nice selection of cheeses. . Remember that most cheeses freeze well - John can give you guidance on this.
WHAT CHEESES ARE SUITABLE?
We need to work with round cheeses, which precludes us from suggesting cheeses which come in a wedge shape. The cheeses listed on the wedding cake page have all worked wonderfully.
HOW DO I ASSEMBLE THE CAKE?
There are two methods:
The first is the easiet and most popular way. The cheeses are simply stacked on each other although it may be an idea to put a circle of greaseproof or cling film between each.
The second involves separating the cheeses with stands, boards, pillars as a lot of tradtional wedding cake cheese are created.
Remember that whether stacked directly or separated, three or more cheeses which are different sizes work much better than several cheeses which have the same diameter.
Most customers have also added some chutneys, biscuits and pickles to go with their cake. Pictures and details of all our goods can be viewed on our internet site.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DECORATE THE CAKE?
It only takes a little effort to make a wedding cake look sensational! As part of our package, we will send you instructions on how to build the cake.
We can also send you fruits, nuts, berries, seeds and foliage to decorate your cake with and try our best to match the colour scheme with your dresses and flowers. If you are worried about cut flower or leaf stems touching the cheese, wrap the stems in a little clingfilm or foil.
We think that the cakes work best when they have all their wrappings (cloth or wax) removed before decoration.
CAN I BUY A CHEESE WEDDING CAKE AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR?
Yes, you can!
HOW MUCH NOTICE DO I NEED TO GIVE?
As much as possible, but a minimum of 3 weeks, especially if we need to discuss your requirements at length. To provide quotations, we always require the date of the wedding and the number of guests. We also need a name and address for delivery of the cheeses and your credit card details. We do not charge your credit card until we have packed the cheeses ready for despatch. We use a courier next day service and normally work to the following timescale:
If a wedding is on a Saturday, we will despatch the cheeses on the Wednesday before the wedding so that, ideally, they arrive on the Thursday. This allows for the courier to take two days to deliver the cheese, which has been known to happen occasionally. Similarly, we suggest a Tuesday despatch date if the wedding is on a Friday.
There is a £7.95 (subsidised) postage charge to most mainland addresses but we waive this if the cheeses are collected from our shop. For more remote adresses, there is a surcharge to the postage/.
CAN I VISIT THE SHOP?
We are very happy to see you at Churchmouse Cheeses and many couples find it very useful to see and taste the cheeses rather than just look at photographs. Some of the cheeses we use in cakes are not always in stock, so not every combination of cheese can be tasted. Please always telephone or e-mail us first to check that we will be there and to arrange a suitable day and time. Our shop is tiny and often very busy on Saturdays.
DO YOU HAVE A BROCHURE OR DETAILS YOU CAN POST TO US?
We keep our website regularly updated and there are anwers to common questions and lots of pictures. Make sure you look at our wedding cake photographs which are sensational.
HOW DO I ORDER?
To place your order, we need your name, address, telephone number, date of the wedding, number of guests and credit card details. We do not charge your credit card until we pack your order. To make a firm order please go to the wedding cake section of our internet shop and order online. We have several cakes in that section and we also have all the components to make a custom cake.
CAN I CANCEL AN ORDER?
You can cancel your order one month before despatch at no charge. After this time, we will charge a £25 adminstration fee./
A LITTLE HELPFUL NOTE FROM US
If you would like to e-mail us, one way you can assist us is by continuing a thread of e-mail (i.e. keep replying to our e-mails rather than creating a new one each time). This way we have all your e-mail correspondence on one e-mail rather than on numerous.. We have hundreds of enquiries a year and this is the best way for us to keep track of all customers. Thank you.
