Wedginald
Encyclopedia
Wedginald is a round of Cheddar cheese
made famous in 2007 when its producers broadcast its maturation process on the internet on the Cheddarvision.tv website.
The 20 kg cheese, from Shepton Mallet
, Somerset
, England
was produced by Westcountry Farmhouse Cheesemakers.
In the nine months it took for the cheese to mature, more than 1.5 million people logged on to watch it.
The website, initially only an internet phenomenon of limited scope, received attention from major media outlets such as the BBC
, The Independent
and newspapers as far away as Norway
.
Similarly, Wedginald drew attention in both the American media, with regular updates on The Tony Kornheiser
Radio Show in the spring of 2007, and in discussions during Middlesex and Surrey County cricket broadcasts on BBC London
radio and internet broadcasts. A time-lapse
video on YouTube
has attracted several hundred thousand page views. The live feed can be installed as an application on Facebook
, and the cheese has over 1,300 friends on MySpace
.
According to Calver, the cheese at this point had "a caramel nose, a sweet twiggy greenness and a creamy good length of flavour...lemony, with a certain 'spritziness'".
Calver claims the company never expected this level of attention about the project. However, they did have a serious intent with this seemingly frivolous gimmick: to educate the population on the art of cheese making. In an age where consumers are getting more and more detached from the products they are consuming, the intention was to show just how much work and effort goes into the production of gourmet food.
The name "Wedginald" was arrived at after a naming contest on the site, and is intended as a humorous portmanteau of "wedge
" (as in a wedge of cheese) and the given name
Reginald
.
The cheese sold at auction on eBay, ending on 19 November 2007, at the sale price of £
1,145 with the proceeds going to the BBC
charity Children in Need
.
With a total of 36 bids, nearly 200 people watched Wedginald as the auction closed. The winner is a former Somerset resident from Chew Magna
, who emigrated to New Zealand
as an architect and subsequently became involved in the wine industry.
Wedginald remained online for viewing on the official website until 19 December 2007. After landing in New Zealand on Saturday 22 December 2007, a competition was launched to find where Wedginald is taking his holiday on www.whereswedginald.tv. The link is now non-operational.
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
made famous in 2007 when its producers broadcast its maturation process on the internet on the Cheddarvision.tv website.
The 20 kg cheese, from Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was produced by Westcountry Farmhouse Cheesemakers.
In the nine months it took for the cheese to mature, more than 1.5 million people logged on to watch it.
The website, initially only an internet phenomenon of limited scope, received attention from major media outlets such as the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and newspapers as far away as Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Similarly, Wedginald drew attention in both the American media, with regular updates on The Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
Radio Show in the spring of 2007, and in discussions during Middlesex and Surrey County cricket broadcasts on BBC London
BBC London
BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9 radio station and local coverage of the...
radio and internet broadcasts. A time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...
video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
has attracted several hundred thousand page views. The live feed can be installed as an application on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, and the cheese has over 1,300 friends on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.
Maturation
On 19 September 2007 a pivotal stage in the cheese’s development was reached, when Tom Calver, its creator, took a nine-month sample to determine the quality at that point. Experts say that this is a vital phase in the maturation process, and determines whether the cheese will be fit for consumption or not.According to Calver, the cheese at this point had "a caramel nose, a sweet twiggy greenness and a creamy good length of flavour...lemony, with a certain 'spritziness'".
Calver claims the company never expected this level of attention about the project. However, they did have a serious intent with this seemingly frivolous gimmick: to educate the population on the art of cheese making. In an age where consumers are getting more and more detached from the products they are consuming, the intention was to show just how much work and effort goes into the production of gourmet food.
The name "Wedginald" was arrived at after a naming contest on the site, and is intended as a humorous portmanteau of "wedge
Wedge
Wedge may refer to:Mathematics:* Triangular prism, a parallel triangle wedge* Wedge , a polyhedral solid defined by two triangles and three trapezoid faces* Wedge product, a mathematical term, named for the ∧ operator symbol used...
" (as in a wedge of cheese) and the given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
Reginald
Reginald
Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language.-Etymology and history:The name is derived from the Latin Reginaldus, which has been influenced by the Latin word regina, meaning "queen". This Latin name is a Latinisation of a Germanic language name...
.
The cheese sold at auction on eBay, ending on 19 November 2007, at the sale price of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,145 with the proceeds going to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
charity Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
.
With a total of 36 bids, nearly 200 people watched Wedginald as the auction closed. The winner is a former Somerset resident from Chew Magna
Chew Magna
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...
, who emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
as an architect and subsequently became involved in the wine industry.
Wedginald remained online for viewing on the official website until 19 December 2007. After landing in New Zealand on Saturday 22 December 2007, a competition was launched to find where Wedginald is taking his holiday on www.whereswedginald.tv. The link is now non-operational.