Cypress Grove, Original Crafters of Great American Goat Cheeses |
Midnight Moon & Humbodlt Fog Cheeses (photos courtesy of Cypress Grove)
It’s hard to imagine a time when goat cheese wasn’t popular in the U.S., but a mere 25 years ago virtually all the goat cheese sold in the U.S. was imported from Europe. That’s where the story of Cypress Grove begins, when a few enterprising Americans, mostly women, made small batches of goat cheese in their kitchens and began selling it to discerning restaurant owners and retailers. One of those entrepreneurial Americans was Mary Keehn, the Founder of Cypress Grove.
Wanting a source of healthful milk for her children, Mary began raising Alpine goats in the 1970s. She quickly discovered that she had a natural talent for selectively breeding goats. Her herd began winning numerous awards and before she knew it, Mary was recognized as America’s premier breeder of Alpine dairy goats.
Necessity Leads to a Mother's Invention
As Mary’s goat stock continued to improve, she was faced with an unexpected consequence: surplus milk from 50 goats! Armed with her kitchen stove, way too much goat milk, and a knack for inventing unique and delicious recipes, Mary began dabbling with cheese making. It soon became clear that selective goat breeding was only one of Mary’s many talents; she had a natural flair for cheese making as well.
In 1983, with the help of family and friends, Mary made the move from kitchen hobbyist to cheese making entrepreneur…and footwear aficionado! Often entrepreneurs talk about wearing many hats. Mary remembers footwear: rubber boots for milking goats, sterile clogs for making cheese, comfortable shoes for office work, and relative to the rest, uncharacteristically high heels for sales and marketing! Local chefs and restaurants bought her cheese and word spread fast about the taste and quality.
Truffle Tremor (photo courtesy of Cyrpress Grove)
Even the Best Needs Time to Succeed
From the outset, Mary strove to make the highest quality, best-tasting artisanal cheeses. Market acceptance, however, was slow. Americans, it seemed, had become accustomed not only to the strong, tangy goat cheeses made in France, but also bland, sliced “cheese” wrapped in plastic. It took quite a few years before consumers developed a palate for the smooth, delicate flavors of Cypress Grove cheeses. Mary used this period of slow, steady growth to take special care of her customers and to work in conjunction with other goat cheese pioneers to develop the American market.
Patience, hard work and a commitment to quality paid off, and over time a large, loyal following began to seek out the Cypress Grove label. Today, Cypress Grove Chevre employs 42 and has awards from the American Cheese Society, the U.S. Cheese Championship, the World Cheese Awards and the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.
A Commitment to Quality Matched by a Commitment to Community
In 2009, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) presented Mary with its Small Business Person of the Year award. The SBA award’s criteria is not only for developing an outstanding business; a business must also help make a contribution to the community.
“We realize that quality must be evident in more than the cheese,” said Mary. “We have to have excellent milk, and that means healthy goats and family farms. By contributing to our employees and community, we make it clear that we are all motivated by the same commitment to quality of life. This award affirms that our focus is appreciated and valued by the business community as well as by our customers.”
Today, Cypress Grove is renowned for its innovative range of fresh, aged and ripened cheeses, many invented by Mary. The company continues to garner international awards for excellence and is a recognized leader in the making of artisanal goat cheese in the U.S.
If you’d like to leaqrn more about some of Cypress Grove’s most acclaimed artisanal goat cheeses click on any of the following:
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