Mark Hardy is a softly-spoken cheese maker, who has been making Brighton Blue, Saint Giles, Ashdown Forrester’s and Sussex Slipcote on his family farm in West Sussex for 27 years.

But he says, thoughtfully, as he stands in his farmyard. “I am cross. I am annoyed.”

The source of his annoyance is the fastest selling cheese that he makes at High Weald Dairy: halloumi.

You may have been under the impression that halloumi was a Cypriot cheese – a distinctive sheep or goat’s hard cheese that is (frankly) a bit rubbery when raw, but when fried or grilled takes on a lovely, deep, salty flavour. The perfect vegetarian option for the barbecue.

And the cheese makers of Cyprus are firmly of the view that it is a Cypriot cheese – to such an extent that they have recently submitted a bid for Protected Designated Origin status, a label granted by the European Union to only a small number of products, such as champagne, Parma ham, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream.

A PDO label means only products can call themselves the distinctive name if they are made in a specific, and restricted area with historic links to the manufacturing process, be it Arbroath smokies, Roquefort or Brie.

But Mr Hardy, along with a number of other cheese makers from Somerset to Yorkshire, have pointed out that halloumi is very much a British cheese too. Mr Hardy has been making for over 25 years. Yes, while it is not as historic as Cheddar or Stilton, it is being made in increasing quantities in this country. The Specialist Cheese-makers Association estimate that 300 to 400 tonnes of the stuff was made in the UK last year.

Mark Hardy of the High Weald Dairy, pictured on his farm in Sussex Credit: Christopher Pledger/The Telegraph

Last week the Department for Food and Rural Affairs submitted an official objection to Cyprus bid, supporting the protests of British cheesemakers, who argue it could be catastrophic if Cyprus's bid was successful. Because if the EU granted halloumi special status, all the British halloumi cheese would have to be called something like “Cyprus-style grilling cheese” or “salty grilling cheese”. Mr Hardy jokes that they will probably have to rename it “squeaky cheese”.

Chris Heyes, one of the cheese makers working at separating the curds and whey by hand when I visit High Weald Dairy, says: “If people don’t know it’s halloumi, you’ve got a problem. They’ll look at it and say, ‘oh, is it a cheese board cheese? And then be very disappointed when they bite into it.”

Mr Hardy, who supplies Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s adds: “Names matter. New customers will look at it on the shelf and be confused.”

Terry Jones, the secretary of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, says: “The real problem is if you are a British supermarket and suddenly your long-standing supplier can no longer call it halloumi, but has to call it “grilling cheese”, the chances are you’ll ditch that supplier and go with a Cypriot one. The fledgling UK halloumi industry will be kiboshed.”

Mark Hardy at the High Weald Dairy with his award-winning halloumi Credit: Christopher Pledger/The Telegraph

While halloumi is a very important export for Cyprus – it sends 13,000 tonnes abroad – the evidence that cheese is particular to the island is pretty sketchy. There is no farm, village or area in Cyprus called halloumi. Indeed, some food historians argue the etymology of the word is from the ancient Coptic ‘Hallum’ -- meaning cheese. This suggests it could actually be Egyptian in origin.

And though Cyprus is certainly the biggest producer of the cheese, it is made in large quantities not just in the UK but also in Greece, Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, Syria and New Zealand.

But the Cypriot application has support from the highest level in Europe, who see the joint bid from the Turkish north side of the Island and Greek south side, as proof the EU has the power to bring warring territories together.

The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has given the application his full blessing, saying: “The common understanding reached around this application is highly symbolic and it confirms the willingness of the two parties to work together with the help of the commission to build confidence with concrete measures.”

Mr Hardy said he was not just annoyed that his business was being caught in a bit of EU politicking, but that the Cyprus bid takes little account of quality. The Cypriot application says producers can use not just cow’s milk, but even powdered milk.

Michael Michael, who helps run his father-in-law’s farm in Somerset, is equally upset – not least because his family (and his wife’s) are originally from Cyprus. He feels the cheese-makers back in his home land have forgotten about quality in the race to get a commercial advantage.

He says: “The whole point of PDO is that it supports traditional, quality products be it Melton Mowbray pork pies and mozzarella di Bufala Campana. The issue I have is that halloumi traditionally is made always with goat's, or sheep’s milk, or a mixture of both. But never cow's milk. And yet most Cypriot halloumi now has cow’s milk in it.

“It tastes different. We’ve run trials with consumers. The traditional sheep and goat halloumi – made in Britain – tastes better.”

Mr Hardy agrees. “Most Cypriot halloumi is made from cow’s milk. 90 per cent is made from cow’s milk. It is inferior quality. It is just so industrial. We sell our halloumi to some big customers and they say ours is so much better than the imported stuff.”

Mr Michael is particularly baffled by the EU stance as he is the beneficiary of a large European grant to help him transform his father-in-law’s farm from a cattle one into a dairy one – specifically one aimed at making Somerset halloumi and Greek yogurt.

He received his EU rural economy grant, worth £213,000 from EU just a couple of years ago.

“That’s bureaucracy, I suppose,” he said. “But I do think it is wrong if Cyprus tries to monopolise the word halloumi. It just doesn’t make sense.”

As David Cameron attempts to negotiate a better deal for Britain in Europe, perhaps he might consider a humble block of grilling cheese as his starting point. Hands off our halloumi isn't a bad slogan.

Halloumi recipes

Halloumi, fig and pomegranate salad

Donna Hay's halloumi, fig and pomegranate salad, a quick-to-prepare summer dish Credit: Donna Hay

Wild rice, halloumi and ginger-braised leeks with sweet pepper, chilli and caper sauce

The flavours seep down through the dish to mingle with each other while also retaining their individuality Credit: William Lingwood

Halloumi, kale and lentils recipe

Kale, lentils and halloumi make for a wholesome, healthy dish Credit: Gary Congress

Rosti with halloumi