47 Cheesemakers

Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.

This is a list of notable cheesemakers. Cheesemakers are people or companies that make cheese, who have developed the knowledge and skills required to convert milk into cheese. Cheesemaking involves controlling precisely the types and amounts of ingredients used and the parameters of the cheesemaking process, to make specific types and qualities of cheese. The milk may be from a cow, goat, sheep or buffalo, although worldwide cow's milk is most commonly used. Cheesemakers also need to be skilled in grading cheese to assess quality, assessing defects and suitability for release, and cheese ripening. The craft of making cheese dates back at least 5,000 years. Archaeological evidence exists of Egyptian cheese being made in the ancient Egyptian civilizations.

Ardrahan Farmhouse Cheese creates two varieties of cheese. They originate from Ardrahan Farmhouse, Kanturk, County Cork in Ireland. The two varieties are Ardrahan and Duhallow. Eugene and Mary Burns first made Ardrahan cheese on their farm in County Cork in 1983 using traditional techniques. Both varieties are made entirely from the milk of the Burns' cow herd, which is composed of Friesian cows.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisan cheesemaker and retail shop with locations in the Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington and New York City's Flatiron District. The company was founded by Kurt Beecher Dammeier in 2003 and opened in the Pike Place Market after Dammeier obtained a difficult to obtain storefront lease in the Market. Because Dammeier had never been a cheesemaker, he sought out the assistance of Brad Sinko, who helped run a family cheese-making business in Oregon. A second location was opened in 2011 in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.

Rolf Beeler is a Swiss affineur known for his raw milk artisan cheeses, which he has developed for more than 30 years. He does not make cheese himself but collects terroir-based cheeses from small, artisanal, cheesemakers and then ages them to create the final product. Rolf Beeler is regarded as Switzerland's best maître fromager and dubbed "The Pope of Cheese" by Swiss newspapers.

The Bel Group is a multinational cheese marketer centered in France.

BelGioioso Cheese Inc. is a cheese manufacturer in Wisconsin. BelGioioso Cheese currently operates eight manufacturing facilities, each plant making particular cheeses that are manufactured, aged, finished, packaged, and shipped from the facility.

Belle Chevre is an artisanal goat cheese maker in rural Alabama. It was established in 1986 and is located in Limestone County, Alabama near Elkmont.

Bothwell Cheese is Canada's largest independently owned cheese maker, known for its cheeses which are branded under the same name. The company, located in New Bothwell, Manitoba, was founded in 1936 as a co-operative by local farmers. It operated as such until 2002, when it was purchased by a group of private investors.

The Cabot Creamery Co-operative is an American dairy agricultural marketing cooperative, which is owned by more than 800 local dairy farmers in New England and upstate New York, and Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farms, Incorporated.

Cahill's Farm Cheese is a maker of handmade cheddar cheese from Newcastlewest County Limerick in Ireland. Cheese has been made on the Cahill family farm since the 1950s, but it was not until the 1980s that Cahill's began commercial cheese production end export.

Sue Conley is the co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery along with Peggy Smith.

The Cooksville Cheese Factory in Evansville is a remnant of Wisconsin's early dairy industry. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Cowgirl Creamery is a company located in Point Reyes Station, California, which manufactures artisan cheeses. Founded in 1994, the company manufactures its own cheeses and sells other imported and domestic cheese and fine artisan foods. Its own cheeses include Red Hawk and Mt. Tam. The company operates a storefront in the Ferry Building of San Francisco. Founders Peggy Smith and Sue Conley worked for years in the kitchens of the Bay Area, and Alice Waters' Chez Panisse, where Peggy worked for many years, is among many Bay Area establishments to incorporate cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery into its menu.

The Crowley Cheese Factory is a historic factory at 14 Crowley Lane in Healdville, Vermont. It is the home of the Crowley Cheese Company, which is believed to be the oldest indigenous manufacturer of cheese in the United States. The factory was built in 1881, and still makes cheese using its original methods and recipes. The factory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The Davidstow Creamery is a manufacturing plant in Cornwall; it makes Cathedral City mature Cheddar cheese. It is the largest cheese factory in the UK, and the largest mature cheddar plant in the world.

Sheana Davis is an American cheesemaker, chef, and culinary educator. She is the owner of the Epicurean Connection, in Sonoma, California, and is the creator of Delice de la Vallee cheese, along with other fresh cheeses.

Glyde Farm Produce was set up in 1996 by Peter Thomas who spent the next several years researching the market in Ireland for suitable dairy products. Peter and Anita Thomas started making Bellingham Blue cheese at their family farm at Mansfieldtown in County Louth, Ireland, in 2000.

Gossner Foods is one of the largest Swiss cheese manufacturers in the United States, and is based in Logan, Utah.

Grafton Village Cheese Company is a cheesemaker in the town of Grafton in the U.S. state of Vermont. The company produces hand-crafted aged cheddar cheese.

Joseph Harding was responsible for the introduction of modern cheese making techniques and has been described as the "father of Cheddar cheese". He is credited with having invented the "definite formula" for the production of cheddar cheese.

Marie Harel was a French cheesemaker, who, along with Abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust, invented Camembert cheese, according to local legend. She worked as a cheesemaker at the Manor of Beaumoncel and made Camembert cheeses according to local custom. Her main contribution was to have initiated a dynasty of entrepreneurial cheesemakers who developed the production of Camembert cheese on a large scale, notably her grandson Cyrille Paynel, born in 1817, who created a cheese factory in the commune of Le Mesnil-Mauger in Calvados at France.

Mary Holbrook (1939–2019) was a cheesemaker and curator. She studied archaeology and worked in museums before retiring to work on her family farm in Timsbury, Somerset where she kept goats and pigs. The goats were milked to make a variety of cheeses which were sold through gourmet outlets such as Harrods and Neal's Yard Dairy.

Albert Edward Horsley, best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg. The case was one of the most sensational and widely reported of the first decade of the 20th century, involving three prominent leaders of the radical Western Federation of Miners as co-defendants in an alleged conspiracy to commit murder.

Anne Hov (c.1846-c.1935) was a Norwegian farm wife from Gudbrandsdalen. She has been credited with developing the modern version of the cheese brunost.

Idyll Farms is a pasture-based goat farm and creamery in Northport, Michigan that produces artisanal farmstead chèvre.

Steven Alexander James, FRSA is an English musician and songwriter, as well as a journalist and cheesemaker. Best known as the bassist of the band Blur, he has also played with temporary bands Fat Les, Me Me Me, WigWam and Bad Lieutenant.

Jay and Joy is the first vegan cheese producer of France. Most of its products contain almonds, while others use cashew nuts or sunflower seeds, as well spices.

Anuradha Krishnamoorthy is an Indian social entrepreneur and cheesemaker. She won the 2017 Nari Shakti Puraskar with her colleague Namrata Sundaresan.

Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.

Västerbotten cheese is a cheese from the Västerbotten region of Sweden.

Sir Andrew Linton was a New Zealand cheesemaker, farmer and New Zealand Dairy Board administrator. He was born in Mataura, New Zealand, on 28 November 1893.

David Murdoch "D.M." Macpherson was a Canadian dairyman, inventor, manufacturer and political figure. He represented Glengarry in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal-Patrons of Industry member from 1894 to 1898. His surname also appears as McPherson in some sources.

The Marin French Cheese Company is a manufacturer of artisan cheese located in rural west Marin County, California. The company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson Thompson, and produces cheeses under the Marin French Cheese brand name. It is the oldest continually operating cheese manufacturer in the United States.

Max McCalman is an American cheese expert. He is an author, was the first Maître Fromager in a North American restaurant, spearheaded the creation of the Artisanal Bistro and Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, and is an advocate for raw-milk cheeses.

Johanne (Hanne) Ane Margrethe Nielsen was a Danish farmer who may have invented Havarti cheese. In the 1800s, Nielsen traveled around Europe to learn about cheesemaking. Her farm was named Havarthigaard and was close to Copenhagen. After returning from her travels, she developed the technique to create a new type of cheese. She was also a teacher, writer, and an accountant for the profit made from her butter and cheese. Her butter and cheese were served to royal families, including a cheese made with cumin that was served to King Christian IX of Denmark. She was denied membership of the Royal Danish Agricultural Society although she had sought the assistance of dairy scientist Thomas Segelcke. Despite being skeptical of female accountants, Segelcke included her accounting method in a book he published.

Dora Glover Saker was an instructor in cheese-making for Somerset County Council. The rediscovery of her book, Practical Cheddar Cheese-making (1917), by cheese-makers in the twenty-first century has been credited with inspiring a revival of interest in historic cheese-making methods and to have "quickly acquired cult status amongst farmhouse cheese-makers".

Sargento Foods Inc. is an American food producer best known for its cheese. It was founded in 1953 in Plymouth, Wisconsin by Leonard Gentine and Joseph Sartori. The company name is a combination of Sartori and Gentine, with an "o" added to make the name sound Italian, as the company specialized in Italian-style cheeses. Sargento is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, and is one of the country's largest retail cheese companies. The company offers profit sharing, tuition reimbursement and benefits for its employees. The company has been a sponsor in American motorsports for many years; for example, it is prominently displayed on Road America raceway.

Schuman Cheese, previously known as Arthur Schuman Inc, is the largest US importer of Italian cheeses.

The Sonoma Cheese Factory is a cheese producer and speciality food store with a wine shop and café in Sonoma, California in the United States.

Veronica Steele was a cheesemaker from Eyeries, West Cork.

Will Studd is an international cheese specialist. Studd has been working with artisan and farmhouse cheeses for more than four decades and has traveled extensively in his vocation. During that time, he has done much to promote a greater understanding of what good cheese is all about, and championed the cause of traditional cheeses made from raw milk. After establishing a chain of delicatessens in central London during the 1970s, he migrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1982, where he has done much to promote a greater understanding of specialist cheese as well as championing the cause of traditional cheese made from raw milk. His work has included being a distributor, retailer, media commentator, and author of a prize-winning book.

Namrata Sundaresan is an Indian social entrepreneur, chef and cheesemaker. She won the 2017 Nari Shakti Puraskar with Anuradha Krishnamoorthy.

Tingvollost is a Norwegian cheesemaker in Tingvoll, making blue cheese and white mold cheeses from cow's milk. Annual production in 2014 was 21 tons of cheese based on 200 000 liters milk.

Von Mühlenen is a Swiss cheese brand from near Fribourg in Düdingen.

Washington State University is a public land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is one of the oldest land-grant universities in the American West. With an undergraduate enrollment of 24,470 and a total enrollment of 29,686, it is the second largest institution for higher education in Washington state behind the University of Washington. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The WSU Pullman campus is perched upon a hill, characterized by open spaces, views, deep green conifers, and a restrained red brick and basalt material palette—materials originally found on site. The university is nestled within the rolling topography of the Palouse in rural eastern Washington and remains intimately connected to the town, the region, and the landscape in which it sits.

Wensleydale Creamery is a cheese manufacturer based in the town of Hawes in North Yorkshire, England. It makes several varieties of cheese, but is most notable as a producer of Yorkshire Wensleydale; a variety of Wensleydale cheese with PGI status.