The Food Programme - Food Icons: Major Patrick Rance

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In a series looking at the people who've changed the way we eat, The Food Programme profiles the campaigner and cheese expert Major Patrick Rance.

In the 1950s he set up a shop which offered a rare sight: row after row of British cheeses. By promoting and selling farmhouse cheeses he saved many from extinction.

Later in the 1980s he became a prolific writer publishing The Great British Cheese Book in 1982. For the first time home-produced cheeses were documented and explained. He inspired a new generation of farmers, producers and retailers to bring a food culture back from the brink.

Chef Richard Corrigan, writer Juliet Harbutt and cheese expert Randolph Hodgson all explain why Patrick Rance's legacy is still alive today.

Producer: Dan Saladino.

Published on Monday, 22nd August 2011.

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