Kendal's club' scene is about to be transformed, thanks to an enterprising young couple with their hearts set on providing a paradise for food-lovers. This delicious new experience for the Lake District comes courtesy of Phil and Jane Latham who together boast an impressive set of culinary credentials, which they plan to put to very good use in the dairy department.

WHEN Phil and Jane Latham have got their feet firmly under the counter of The Cheese Shop (formerly The Cheese Larder) in Kendal's market hall, they will be scouting for members of a new fromage fellowship.

I doubt they'll have much difficulty finding an enthusiastic following for their cheese club' where the subscription fee will entitle cheese chums to all manner of treats.

"It's not a new idea for the likes of London but it is something a bit different for around here," said 31-year-old Phil.

He and Jane, who now live in Kendal, have been married for eight years and have two young sons, three-year-old Tom and one-year-old Edward.

Both hail from a foodie background and, when they spotted the unit to let' in Kendal market hall, Phil and Jane knew it would help them realise their ambition of not only working together but also putting their food knowledge to good use.

Jane and Phil met at Reaseheath, the former Cheshire College of Agriculture, which boasts an international training reputation in the big wide world of food.

Thirty-year-old Jane, from Chester, studied food and dairy technology with a bit of food science thrown in for good measure and then went on to Sheffield University where she acquired a degree in food marketing.

Meanwhile, Phil, from Cheadle, in Staffordshire, studied food technology and business management at Reaseheath. His first job was in Stoke-on-Trent in a micro lab' where he was involved with food testing and food safety.

Jane has family connections with the area her parents live in Grange-over-Sands and she eventually got a job in the lab at Farleys and set up home in Kendal, the plan being that Phil wouldn't be far behind her if he could get work up this way.

"I'd applied for lots of jobs but it was only when I took the plunge and moved here that I actually got something," said Phil, who landed a job at Gott Foods, in Morecambe, a mere two weeks after he arrived.

And then Phil did something completely different he went to work at Croppers (the specialist papermakers in Burneside) on quality assurance.

"I had a great time but I knew that I would eventually have to get back into the food industry," explained Phil, who next took on the quality manager's job at Parmalat, in Kendal, the former Lakeland Creameries.

It was in his spare time that Phil then began to branch out into the bread-making business.

Young couples with new babies invariably gravitate towards each other and so it was that Phil and Jane found new friends in Simon and Julie Thomas - proprietors of The Staff of Life, in Berry's Yard, off Finkle Street - who also have a young son.

Phil honed his bread-making skills under Simon's expert tuition, and Jane's mouth-watering New York cheesecakes were soon for sale alongside Julie's renowned scones. However, Phil and Jane and Simon and Julie weren't only cooking in the kitchen blame it on the cheese but their dreams went into overdrive.

Which is when the Lathams saw the unit to let in Kendal market hall.

That was just before Christmas so they've managed to do the deal and open The Cheese Shop in double quick time.

Their plan is to sell the sorts of cheese you won't find in the supermarket from small, independent producers, the artisans of the fromage field. Look out for a cheese of the week'.

There'll be speciality breads too made by Simon and Phil plus a fresh pasta range (when the packaging has been perfected!); salamis and cooked meats; soups and pasta sauces; locally-made relishes and chutneys; pates, hummus, olives and all manner of deli delights.

Jane who once did a spot of pie-making under the auspices of master butcher Stuart Higginson and his wife Pauline - is also planning some scrumptious pastries including a spinach, ricotta, vegetable and bulgar wheat confection which sounds simply divine.

And not forgetting his roots, Phil's clientele will also be able to savour the Staffordshire oatcake experience. Make sure you have an appetite!

"There are so many opportunities for us but we plan to sell the cheese well first," said Jane.

Red Leicester and Tasty Lancashire traditionalists will always be catered for. "But because of who and what we are we can be quite flexible on what we sell to those who like to try something different," said Phil.

In other words, you'll always be in for a pleasant surprise at The Cheese Shop. You can be sure of a smile when you say cheese'.

February 6, 2003 10:00