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Scottish cheesemaker Highland Fine Cheeses has launched Ooh La La, a soft, lactic cow’s milk cheese inspired by the French Saint-Félicien style, ahead of the Christmas trading season.
Produced at the company's Tain facility in northeast Scotland by second-generation cheesemaker Rory Stone, the new cheese features a natural geotrichum rind and is enriched with a small amount of cream to achieve a silky, soft texture.
Developed over more than two years, Ooh La La has already received recognition at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2026, winning Best Scottish Cheese and Best Soft White Rind Cheese, alongside a Gold medal. Following a further six months of refinement, the cheese is now available for UK retail distribution.
The vegetarian cheese is made using a lactic cheesemaking process and gentle coagulation. Its curds are slowly hand-ladled into moulds in thin layers to retain moisture, before being lightly salted and matured for approximately two to five weeks.
The resulting cheese has a delicate rind and a soft, yielding texture that becomes increasingly spoonable as it ripens. Its flavour profile combines fresh cream and cultured butter notes with hints of banana and pear drops, alongside subtle mushroom and cellar characteristics from the rind. A gentle lactic tang provides balance and a clean finish.
The company said the product takes inspiration from the traditional French Saint-Félicien cheese, with additional cream and a carefully controlled ripening process helping to achieve its distinctive texture and flavour.
Ooh La La is available in a 180g format, with pre-Christmas deliveries now offered to retailers. Cheesemongers, buyers and distributors can request pricing and samples directly from Highland Fine Cheeses.
The launch expands the company's portfolio of specialist mould-ripened, blue, bloomy and washed-rind cheeses, which also includes Morangie Brie, Minger and Blue Murder.
