Words and photo by Tristan Ovington.

With local farmers competing against mass-produced products, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good quality local products in Salisbury. This is why Jane Howard, 64 and Sarah Hutchinson, 63, formed their own delicatessen stall, Ginny’s Dairy.
The story began when friends Jane and Sarah moved back to Salisbury to find so few market stalls. “We knew there was a niche for selling local cheeses to the people of Salisbury. But when we looked at the price of setting up a shop it was so expensive we decided on a stall instead.
“As a result, Ginny’s Dairy became a limited company in early August 2022. Our aims were to help support the Salisbury local produce scene and local cheese making farmers.”
Whatever your palette, the Ginny’s Dairy girls have you covered, offering cheeses made from cow milk, sheep milk and goat milk, all made in Wessex, apart from the Stilton.
Ginny’s Dairy, named after Sarah’s late cheese champion mother, also provides cheese biscuits – both Scandinavian and Argentinian style – which are also made in Wessex.
These are complemented by award-winning butters made in Dorset with either sea salt butter or cracked black pepper. And that’s not all!
“We also have Alison Kirkonel, based in Little Dunford, who makes chutneys and jams,” says Sarah, excitedly. “She makes seasonal chutneys like rhubarb and ginger or red onion marmalade. And last but not least, we sell Ginger Pig Pies from a renowned London company.
“What we remind people is that mass-produced cheese is not made with love. Our cheeses are produced using milk made by the same farmers who make the cheese.
“When milk is transported and mixed with other types of milk it affects the flavour and quality and the cows, sheep or goats are not always free range.
“Local farmers care about welfare and ensure their animals are happy which leads to amazing tasting cheese.
“We would like to create more delicatessen stalls in the Wessex area and continue expanding our range of cheeses and biscuits according to customer demand and changing tastes. We are also looking to start a list of recipes to hand out with orders, that may one day become our own recipe book.”

Ginny’s Dairy can be visited at Maltings market (Friday), ginnysdairy.co.uk, info@ginnysdairy.co.uk