The Keys to Successful Cheese Collabs

You might find the name of a cheesemaker or the name of an affineur on a package of cheese that comes from Europe. That’s been much less common in America. But times are changing, and so is cheesemaking. Modern cheesemaking has evolved to include partnerships or collaborations among numerous players: those directly related to the cheese industry, such as dairies and dedicated affineurs, as well as those that aren’t, such as other food and beverage brands, where cross-promotion comes into play. 

 

Who Makes Cheese?

Before industrialization, when cheese was largely a farmstead endeavor, cheesemakers were farmers and also affineurs. Cheesemaking was a one-stop shop. Any additional ingredients that may have been added to the cheese, or used in its making, were also likely made on premise, or sourced hyper-locally. 

In contemporary cheesemaking, especially in the U.S., creameries can be independent enterprises from farms, with producers collecting milk from various sources. Affinage may not be done by those who make the cheese: young wheels may be transported locally, or even nationally, to finish their aging process in the hands of others. While there are still those producers who manage every aspect of the cheese from herd to curd to rind, more often contemporary artisanal cheese relies on a multi-faceted approach. “Collaborations and cooperative farming have been fundamental to our business’s growth and stability,” says Samuel Rheaume, Content Creator for Jasper Hill Farm.

Here’s a look at various ways that cooperation and collaboration have a hand in a modern cheese landscape.

 

Partnerships Between Dairies and Cheesemakers

“The survival of the dairy industry relies on collaborations,” says Jessica Sennett, Founder of Cheese Grotto. “The partnerships between dairy farmers and cheesemakers are essential for dairy farmers seeking a better-paying alternative to selling their high-quality dairy to a giant liquid milk buyer,” she says. “Since cheese is a value-added item for fluid milk, the quality of the milk is essential and incredibly valuable to cheesemakers.” Value alignment among both parties is what drives modern artisanal cheesemaking.

 

Forming Cheesemaker Affineur Relationships

Specialized American affinage is still in its infancy compared to how it is done in Europe, with essentially two major players in the game: Murray’s Cheese Caves, begun in 2004, and The Cellars at Jasper Hill, from 2008, where many cheeses from around the country and even around the world go to finish their aging process. (Another affineur, Crown Finish Caves, opened in 2014, but closed in 2022.) Smaller operations or partnerships have also connected a cheesemaker with another cheesemaker for affinage purposes, as had been the case between Midwestern-based Flory’s Truckle and Milton Creamery, for example.

The modern American cheese industry (and especially Vermont’s powerhouse role in it,) owes much to these kinds of partnerships, which involve a tremendous degree of trust-building between operators. “The Cellars at Jasper Hill, made possible through an epic collaboration with Cabot Cooperative Creamery, were constructed as a means of lowering the barriers to entry for value-added production for others in our region,” says Rheaume. “It provided us the infrastructure to aggregate more artisan cheese into distribution channels, increasing access for small scale farms in our community.” 

 

Iconic cheeses such as Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Willoughby, and Oma either began because of, or owe their longevity to, The Cellars at Jasper Hill. Willoughby was able to continue after its original cheesemaker, Marisa Mauro of Ploughgate Creamery, discontinued operations following a fire at the dairy. Oma represents a different kind of dairy/affineur success story, coming into being as a partnership between von Trapp Farmstead and Jasper Hill, who was responsible for its ripening until very recently, while the von Trapp family developed a facility to ripen it on-premise.

In terms of trust required for these kinds of relationships, Murray’s Cheese Caves is responsible not only for the ripening of domestic cheeses from throughout the U.S., but many international ones as well. “I’ve started using the term stewardship a lot more than collaboration, because there’s a lot of trust involved in the process,” says Associate Caves Director Josh Windsor. “We’re being very open and transparent about who we’re working with, what the base cheeses are, whether they’re available in the market somewhere else under a different name, under the same name, or whether it’s something exclusive to us,” says Windsor. For example, Murray’s Cave Aged Cornelia begins its life as unaged Point Reyes Toma.

 

“There’s the trust in maintaining the integrity of the cheese maker’s work and product, and keeping that quality throughout the affinage process,” says Windsor. “And then there’s also the trust about food safety. It’s scary as a cheese maker to know that you’re working with a product that always has the potential of having a contaminant and making someone sick, and then to just hand it off to someone else who has even a higher likelihood of [causing that] if they don’t know what they’re doing,” he says. “So, making sure that our processes are high quality, and very conservative from a food safety standpoint, is part of building that trust.”

Of note, Murray’s and Jasper Hill are responsible for many collaborative cheeses, most recently Murray’s Cave Aged Reserve Barnstorm Blue, a highly technical square, washed rind, raw cow’s milk blue cheese.

 

Finding Specialty Ingredient Purveyors

Partnerships in cheese are not only limited to those operators who represent an obvious link in the dairy chain. Products used for additions or finishes to cheese allow for cheesemakers to look to related industries for cross-promotion purposes. “Artisan cheese has continued to gain popularity in the United States, but it is not a government subsidized industry, so collaborations [beyond dairy] are essential to help cheese gain more visibility and revenue streams since it is a higher value item,” says Sennett.

 

Utah’s Beehive Cheese, for example, offers an array of cheeses built upon the same base cheese recipe, aged and finished with a variety of partners’ products, including whiskey, honey, coffee, chilies, etc. “Collaborations with innovative brands such as Basil Hayden’s give us an opportunity to reach new fans in different ways,” says Britton Walsh, Beehive Cheese’s President, who notes that the kinds of products that end up in Beehive’s cheeses are often those that may be served with cheese. “It also allows us an opportunity to learn from other companies and helps us think outside the box of our day-to-day work.” (Of note, Beehive’s growth in recent years has resulted in them passing over the cheesemaking element of their business to Gossner Foods, while Beehive will continue to do the finishing and affinage — the opposite of the relationships described above.)

Rheaume echoes these sentiments, “Jasper Hill launched our special wash program to hitch our wagon to the growing enthusiasm for craft beer in the early 2010s,” he says. “It allowed us to grab the attention of people who were already enthusiastic about the notion of craft in food production, conscious of how food is grown and produced, and pull their attention toward the farmstead cheese movement,” he says. As Jasper Hill has grown in prominence in the decade since, “We’re now to the point where the market’s familiarity with Willoughby and other cheeses that get special wash treatment — such as Harbison — can provide more visibility for smaller or regional brewers.”

Autumn sees many seasonal cross-promotions between cheesemakers and other products or players. Jasper Hill has recently released a Port-washed Harbison Mini in collaboration with iconic Port producer, Sandeman, which keeps with the nature Jasper Hill’s washed rind program, and also leverages the weight of an international brand. “Our collaboration with Sandeman is a bit novel, as our special washes have generally been customer-driven; distribution partners or retailers would propose a beloved regional craft beverage producer for the commission of a limited-edition cheese, unique to their portfolios,” says Rheaume. “In our collaboration with Sandeman, though, we’ve had the fun of originating a special-release that is available to our whole network of wholesale partners. As a legacy brand with more professionally developed PR resources, Sandeman is generously sharing the spotlight with us as they spread the word about this epic pairing.”

 

And Sennett, a former monger whose company now makes mini cheese caves for personal use, and offers a cheese subscription program, has also had a hand in creating a seasonal cheese in partnership with Capriole Goat Cheese: a paprika-dusted goat cheese called Noelle decked with a bourbon-soaked chestnut leaf. “One of my first favorite cheeses at my first cheesemonger job at Cowgirl Creamery was Sofia by Capriole, an ash-ripened goat cheese that is clean, bright, floral, mineral, and amazing on a baguette with honey,” says Sennett. “As we continue to grow our cheese subscription program, it only made sense to me to include Capriole Goat Cheese in a creative collaboration, as they are one of my dream cheesemakers. As someone who previously worked as a cheesemaker, but is now in the business of storing, educating, and selling cheese, it is very fulfilling to have a bit of a hand in the process of creating a new cheese with Capriole that also aligns with their values and approach to cheesemaking. It is also a fun experience for Capriole as well, as they continue to explore the possibilities of what they can make in their small cheesemaking room.”

 

Adding Celebrity Sizzle

The beverage space has been no stranger to celebrity culture, especially over the past decade, with celebs from every industry putting their names, palates, or even hands to products across the beverage spectrum, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. (Beyonce, among the most recent, released SirDavis American Whisky, a New York International Spirits Competition Gold Medal winner.)

 

Although artisanal cheese may not seem to have the same reach as something like, say, tequila, a few key celebrities have already begun reaching across the dairy aisle for a wedge of the cheese wheel. Murray’s recently announced two retail projects with celebrity names on the banner: S.Pellegrino teamed up with Stanley Tucci to offer a holiday cheese “cake” offered exclusively through Murray’s. The four-tiered cheese centerpiece consists of Buonatavola Provolone, Murray’s Cave Aged Reserve Cornelia, Murray’s Mini Brie, and Alta Langa La Tur.

 

Also available, SJP X Murray’s is a curated collection of cheeses to pair with Sarah Jessica Parker’s Invivo X SJP New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The cheeses on offer are Taleggio, Murray’s Young Manchego, and Murray’s Estate Gouda. A podcast between Parker and Murray’s Cara Siegel, Director of Business Development and Hospitality offers a peek into the tasting process of pairing the wine with the cheeses. (Also noteworthy, Parker apparently loves wafty cheeses, swooning particularly over the Taleggio and naming Irish Gubbeen as her number one cheese.)

Will we see more of this? “I can’t see any negative repercussions to celebrity collaborations, as long as the values are still maintained, and the cheesemaker’s vision isn’t compromised,” says Sennett. “Artisan cheesemakers always need more visibility, and it’s about time that these cheeses got as much recognition as a celebrity wine or microbrew.”

“Cheese is fun and sexy — period,” says Walsh. “I love the idea of celebrities working in the cheese space because I think it gives us a chance to tell our stories. Our dream celebrity collaborator would be Ryan Gosling,” he says, “So if you’re out there, Ryan, Beehive Cheese has some cheese with your name on it.” A Ken cheese? We’d eat that!