Cheese Stories.
A Living Culture.
Within the Microcosm of Craft: A Homage to Cultural Heritage.
Cheese is far more than a product – it is living culture, a distilled landscape, craftsmanship in its purest form. In it, origin, climate, and tradition merge into an expression of identity, quality, and sensuality. My Cheese Stories are dedicated to exploring this fascinating world of cheese: its many faces, its traditions, and its history – in Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, and beyond.
I am inspired by the idea of presenting cheese as a cultural heritage that extends far beyond taste. Every region, every aging cellar, every milk tells its own story – of soils and mountains, climates, mentalities, and artisanal precision. Cheese is a quiet chronicler of time: it preserves knowledge, translates landscape into flavor, and reveals how closely culinary art, culture, and quality are intertwined. On my journey, I meet cheesemakers, affineurs, producers, and hosts who work with dedication, patience, and meticulous skill. In their microcosm, they act – like delicate seismographs – mapping the movements of the national and international cheese world.
I want to show how cheese connects – producers and connoisseurs, regions and generations. It unites the local with the universal, the rustic with the refined. These Cheese Stories are a tribute to the quality of craftsmanship and to those who, with patience, knowledge, and passion, preserve a cultural heritage that teaches us to understand pleasure as an expression of history and community.
Cheesemaker Thomas Berglund I
Almnäs Bruk (SE)
So much more than Wrångebäck: How Thomas Berglund's work at Almnäs Bruk creates value für not only for the cheese culture in Sweden.
Cheese Historian Martin Ragnar I Svensk Ostkultur (SE)
What factors have shaped Swedish milk and cheese culture from Christianisation through the late Middle Ages to the early modern period?
Eirný Sigurðardóttir I Iceland Cheese Queen (ISL)
In the Land of Sagas and Stories: Eirný’s Seven Super Heroes and how they are reviving Icelandic cheese culture.
Cheesemaker Ann-Marie Schlutz I Sauðagull (ISL)
German born Ann-Marie Schlutz writes Icalandic cheese history: Sauðagull, “Sheep’s Gold”—Iceland’s only dairy licensed to milk sheep.
Affineur Bernard Antony I Antony Artisanal Cheese Purveyors (FR)
The Maître’s Delight. A look back with Bernard Antony at his life’s work and the many facets of enjoyment.
Dairy Technologist Noemi Decurtins I Seiler Raclette (CH)
The Craft of Perfect Raclette: How Seiler Blends Authentic Swiss Tradition With Modern Creativity.
Cheesemaker Silvio Schöpfer I Kleinstein Emmentaler (CH)
On a future for Emmentaler AOP: How the Kleinstein cheese dairy shows that Swiss cheese tradition can only survive through quality craftsmanship.
Cheesemonger Lucas Wirth I Wirth's Huus Basel (CH)
Enjoying fondue and raclette together: Lucas Wirth on melted Swiss cheese traditions.
Cheesemaker Peter Dörig I Herkkujuustola Sastamala (FI, CH)
How Peter Dörig is bringing Swiss craftsmanship to Finnish soil with Herkkujuustola, thereby defining a new cheese culture.
Cheesemonger Nelli Steer I Rolling Cheese Helsinki (FI)
Two Brits, one mission: How Nelli and Peter Steer are redefining Finland's cheese culture with Rolling Cheese in Helsinki.
Cheesemonger Pascal Eggers I Fromagerie Pascal Hamburg (GER)
The allure of France and refined cheese culture: How cheese sommelier Pascal Eggers celebrates French craftsmanship in his Hamburg cheese shop.
Cheesemaker Redlef Volquardsen I Friesische Schafskäserei Tetenbüll (GER)
Frisian sheep cheese dairy in Tetenbüll: Bioland farm, sustainable agriculture, and traditional cheese-making – regional delicacies from Schleswig-Holstein since 2003.