Paxton & Whitfield

What's in the box: A selection of award-winning artisan cheeses chosen by the cheesemongers, with biscuits and tasting notes.

Paxton & Whitfield is a long-established London cheesemonger with over 275 years of history, best known for its shop on Jermyn Street. Its subscriptions are about eating cheese, not making it. There are no cultures, moulds or equipment for home cheesemaking, so if you want to make your own cheese you should look elsewhere. What you get instead is a regular selection of award-winning cheeses chosen by experienced cheesemongers. The Cheese Club is a prepaid plan of 3, 6 or 12 months. Each delivery comes with biscuits and tasting notes, and the first includes a welcome letter, which makes it an easy gift. There is also a Weekend Cheese Box Subscription, but the site does not clearly explain how it differs from the club. Outside the subscriptions, the shop runs live online tastings that include a delivery of tasting cheese. It also sells crackers, chutneys, knives and boards if you want to build out a cheeseboard. The company matures cheese in its own rooms and sells a range of exclusive cheeses, so selections should arrive in good condition. The main drawback is the prepay model. If you want a rolling plan you can pause or cancel at any time, the site does not say that one exists. Free named-day UK delivery applies to orders over £45.