A Day in the Life

At Clotton Creamery, no two days look quite the same. From early mornings in the milking parlour to late nights planning what comes next, running a rural start-up takes commitment, care and a hands-on approach. Our founder Henry Cooke shares a glimpse into a typical day and what it really takes to build Clotton Creamery from the ground up.

05:00 – Milking time

Living on the farm means the day starts early. As soon as I’m up, I head straight to the milking parlour. It’s a two-person job – I’m on the cows, while my brother Rob manages everything outside, making sure there’s a steady flow coming through.

Out of our 250-strong herd, I’ll milk around 200 cows each morning, which takes roughly two hours. I grew up on the farm, so early starts don’t faze me. I’ve always loved farming, but I realised early on that the family farm wasn’t big enough for both my brother and me long-term.

I knew I wanted to build something of my own without moving away. When my dad suggested I research other dairy products, I spotted a gap in the market for a northern clotted cream – and that’s where the idea for Clotton Creamery began.

08:00 – Office admin

After milking, I’ll spend about an hour in the office catching up on deliveries, emails, audits and paperwork. With the business still growing, there’s always something to do.

Right now, a lot of my focus is on planning for the next stage – things like exploring outsourced deliveries and laying the groundwork for expansion. There’s a lot to juggle, but it’s exciting to see everything moving forward.

09:00 – Out and about

Delivery usually takes up the rest of the morning. I deliver the previous day’s cream so it reaches customers as fresh as possible.

It’s not something you see every day, but I enjoy talking to staff and building relationships locally. It’s also taught me a lot about marketing – even simple things like placing the cream next to the strawberries can make a difference.

12:00 – Processing time

By midday, it’s time to start making the cream. I’ll be in the dairy for the next five hours, with only a very quick lunch break in between.

I start with raw milk, separating the cream before transferring it into tubs. The cream is then slow-baked in ovens – a crucial step that gives clotted cream its distinctive golden crust. After that, it’s placed into cold storage overnight, where it thickens and becomes the clotted cream you see on the shelves.

14:00 – A moment to connect

Some stages of processing allow me to multitask, so I’ll use that time to update our social media. For a new business, telling our story is important. I like to show what’s happening on the farm and give people an insight into the ‘why’ behind Cheshire clotted cream, alongside product shots.

That said, I still need to concentrate – things can go wrong quickly if you’re not careful. I learned everything from scratch, and it took six months to truly understand the process. Maintaining the fat content of the milk is especially important; if it’s not spot-on, the cream simply won’t work.

18:00 – Planning ahead

Running your own business doesn’t leave much room to switch off.

Aside from curry nights every other week with friends, I don’t slow down much – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I try to be in bed by 10pm, otherwise I’ll really feel it when the alarm goes off at 5am.