We Know Our Sources: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
The following post was written by Heinen’s Director of Specialty Cheese, Anne Somoroff.
I have had the opportunity and distinct pleasure of visiting Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in New York City. Let’s go back a couple of steps and retrace the birth of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.
As the story goes, Kurt Beecher Dammeier opened his cheesemaking kitchen and shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in 2003. At the time, Beecher’s was the first artisan cheesemaker in Seattle. Kurt’s vision and “food for thought” was that it is integrally important to know and understand where our food comes from, what it is made of and how it is actually made. It made perfect sense to have a cheese business at this location, amongst the fresh market ingredients, and local products with which he could showcase these three simple ideas while educating the market visitors and customers on the cheesemaking process from beginning to end.
All milk was obtained from local Washington farmers and all ingredients were pure and clean, void of any hormones, preservatives or additives. The life cycle and process of making cheese was a daily project that all could see and understand, and the end result was delicious cheese with great depth of flavor, made daily from the very simplest and best quality ingredients that produce nutritionally-rich food.
In 2011, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese opened its second location in New York City. All the basic tenets that were established years before in Seattle carried over into this new east coast venture. The best quality local milk from New York State and well-sourced ingredients make the best cheese, not only rich in flavor, but in nutritional value as well.
At the end of the day, it is all about the Beecher’s credo: “Beecher’s Handmade Cheese makes foods only with ingredients we trust, are proud of, and would eat ourselves. It is authentic and original food, full of flavor.” Moreover, Beecher’s is committed to educating the customer on the benefits of pure, authentic and wholesome food. With educational programs both in Seattle and New York, Beecher’s continues to highlight the best and purest food sourcing initiatives, and the food life cycle processes important for not only eating healthy but for maintaining a healthy planet from which we source those ingredients.
We are proud to partner with Beecher’s Handmade Cheese and to be able to tell the story of their authentic, artisanal cheeses here at Heinen’s. One thing is for certain, one taste and you will savor these cheeses forever!
