1 Neal's Yard Dairy
17 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden, London WC2 (020 7240 5700); 6 Park Street, Borough Market, London SE1 (020 7645 3554)
Back in 1979 in its tiny Covent Garden premises, one of Neal's Yard Dairy's first customers was John Cleese, who dropped in to buy some cheese. However, owners Nick Saunders and Randolph Hodgson, who were still learning how to make it, had only managed yoghurt that day, so it all rather descended into a Monty Python sketch.

Cut to 2004. Hodgson is standing in the Borough Market shop surrounded by shelves stacked with maturing cheeses. Last year Neal's Yard sold 500 tonnes of the stuff and its turnover was £5 million. The cheeses are predominantly British (although the buffalo mozzarella is Italian, as Hodgson rates the flavour better) with America as the main export market; France is beginning to show interest. He is still passionate about his product, but now he's a lot more knowledgeable. Hodgson divides his week between the two London shops ('you can have the best cheese in the world, but you still have to let the customer know about it') and visiting his suppliers. On his office wall is his cheese map, with red pins marking the farms.

There's a proliferation round the South West and Ireland, a smattering elsewhere and a faraway pin on Orkney. Neal's Yard Dairy (nothing to do with the apothecary) knows its stock - 70 cheeses at most - and its suppliers. Hodgson regularly tastes each make, adjusting storage times accordingly and maybe making suggestions to the farmer. The Westcombe cheddar, for example, had a better flavour in winter from cows fed on silage and maize than the summer stock made from grass-fed milk, so the producer has supplemented the summer feed. It's a far cry from the pioneering days when Saunders (who died in 1998) had to call in the lady who ran the neighbouring coffee shop, and who possessed infinitely better tastebuds, to sample the cheese. 'I used to say, "Oh, no, not that fierce woman again,"' says Hodgson. 'But it paid off. His taste improved ...and he married her.'

2 Henshelwood's Delicatessen
10 Newgate, York (01904 673877)
In 2002 Lyn Henshelwood, then head of an architectural firm, decided to leave the corporate machine that was grinding her life to a halt, and start a deli with her husband Bob. 'My philosophy was: I wouldn't sell anything that I wouldn't eat myself.' Specialities include a range of artisan cheeses, home-made fresh crab ptés and ready-made meals, such as pheasant with pickled walnuts and Lancashire hotpot with oysters.

3 Valvona & Crolla
19 Elm Row, Edinburgh (0131 556 6066; valvonacrolla.com
If Borough Market is 'London's larder', this is Edinburgh's equivalent. For 70 years the deli has meticulously sourced its produce, ensuring the parmesan is from one of the last Italian farms that produce it themselves, the wine list wins awards, and the restaurant's family recipes are consistently moreish. It even does mail order. 'It's a family firm,' says co-owner Mary Contini. 'Recently my daughter decided to join the business. That's fourth generation, so now we've a chance at surviving another 25 years.'

Best of the rest

Northern Ireland

The Olive Tree
353 Ormeau Road, Belfast (028 9064 8898)
This combined café and deli lives up to its name by being Northern Ireland's biggest importer of olives. Good range of products from Carluccio to the Offbeat Bottling Company.

Wales

Wally's Delicatessen
42-44 Royal Arcade, Cardiff (029 2022 9265)
This is an impressive shop, with a huge range of stock, from herbs and spices, pulses and health foods to Polish cooked meats, tonnes of salamis and unusual Greek wines.

Scotland

I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger
Three Edinburgh shops in Victoria Street, Morningside Road and Baker's Place (0131 661 9955)
The first shop opened in 1993 and now there are three, which must sum up the quality of this assiduous cheesemonger. There's a huge variety, plus tea, coffee, chocolate and bread, with the emphasis on flavour and traditionally-made food.

North West

Unicorn Grocery
89 Albany Road, Chorlton, Manchester (0161 861 0010)
A truly dynamite outfit that opened in 1996 with some sound underlying principles. This co-operative promotes fair and sustainable trade and is committed to selling good food as cheaply as possible. It stocks between 40 and 70 varieties of organic fruit and vegetables daily, over 400 organic lines and is registered with the Soil Association. Closed Mondays.

Yorks & Humberside

Beanies
205-7 Crookes Valley Road, Sheffield (0114 268 1662)
A workers' co-operative which promotes natural, organic and vegetarian food. It also offers a bag scheme within the Sheffield area.

East Anglia

Cambridge Cheese Company
All Saints Passage, Cambridge (01223 328672)
This tiny shop, situated in the heart of the city in the quaint All Saints Passage, utilises every square inch of space. Besides over 200 British and European cheeses (trucked in from French and Spanish markets weekly) it stocks 40 different types of olives, oils, vinegars and charcuterie. Local producers sup ply honey and meat, and the fresh meat pies, made by a lady in Suffolk, fly out of the door - the students can't get enough of them. Now in its ninth year, the shop, according to one eager employee, stocks 'full-on everything'.

Midlands

Chatsworth Farm Shop
Pilsley, Bakewell, Derbyshire (01246 583392)
One of the earliest and most successful farm shops, the enterprising Duchess of Devonshire set this one up 26 years ago, and is still very much the presiding force. Situated in the old stables about a mile from Chatsworth, the shop is a shrewd mix of souvenir chutneys and marmalade, delicious traditional beef from the estate and - of course - eggs from the Duchess's chickens. For those who don't live nearby, there's a big mail-order trade and the Farm Shop does a range of hampers, from the Duke's (£499) to the Housemaid's (£45).

The Cheese Shop
6 Flying Horse Walk, Nottingham (0115 941 9114)
This tiny 12ftx24ft shop is crammed with good things: more than 200 types of cheese - Stilton being the most local - olives, bread, ptés, chutneys and breads. Haggis is a year-round favourite. Run by hus band and wife team Paul and Pauline Atkinson.

South East

Infinity Foods
25 North Road, Brighton (01273 603563)
A wholefood and organic outlet with a reliable conscience and great, far-ranging stock, including beer and wine. There's also a cafe on Gardner Street.

South West

Chandos Delicatessen
121 Whiteladies Road, Bristol (01179 512257)
Cheery staff, wonderful breads, cheeses, ptés and olives. Fresh sandwiches every day with great fillings.

London

La Fromagerie
30 Highbury Park, London N5 (020 7359 7440); 2-4 Moxon Street, London W1 (020 7935 0341)
Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, Henry Harris and Giorgio Locatelli all get their cheese from here, thanks to the tireless owner, Patricia Michelson.