This past Saturday, Becky and I had the privilege of touring the Beehive Cheese Factory in an excursion hosted by the Viking Cooking School. A wonderful afternoon of learning, sampling and connecting with 50 other local foodies, cheesemongers, and general cheese lovers (including my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Riggle… Small world, right?) Beehive Cheese is located in Uintah, in South Ogden and is owned by Tim Welsh and Pat Ford, who “left the fast-paced world of software and real estate seeking a more simple way of life as artisan cheese makers… They traded in their grinding traffic commute for quiet mornings sitting with 500 gallons of farm-fresh milk. They gave up briefcases and laptops for the romance of making hand-crafted cheese.”
Our tour began with the Tim sharing how he became interested in artisanal cheeses and the progression of Beehive Cheese. Some stories that stood out were of the local support they have received from Utah State University and Cache Valley Cheese. USU has provided strong mentorship from the science side of cheesemaking and actually gave them their original recipe for the Promontory Cheese. Cache Valley Cheese also gave them a significant step up as a start up. Tim and Pat bought several pieces of equipment from Cache Valley, who conveniently “forgot’ to cash their check for payment. I don’t know about you, but stories like that seem few and far between. Beehive Cheese began their marketing in Northern California, and have expanded across the nation. A complete listing of where you can find their cheese are listed on the website. Recently, they were showcased in Sunset Magazine in Dec 2009 as well as featured in the past holiday issue of Williams Sonoma.

Tim and his team are intricately involved in the entire cheese making procedure, from choosing the dairy farm, which is just down the way, to developing flavors. One of their most popular flavors “Barely Buzzed” was simply a ‘what if…’ moment with some lavender and coffee beans that they had on hand. Left to age and then forgot about, the cheese was rediscovered several months later by Tim. We tasted this coffee flavored cheese in their store and it was shake-your-head-and-close-your-eyes delicious.

I was inspired by the passion that Tim obviously had for his business. Just knowing that he loves each of these cheese wheels from start to finish make me excited to buy more of his product. Tim said if you’re driving near Uintah and stuck behind a man going 40 mph on the freeway, you can bet it’s him and he’s lost in conversation with his wife about cheese.

Tim walked us through the artisanal cheese process, which was fascinating and new to me. The key to artisan cheese making is that it is done by hand and that much care is given to the aging of the cheese. Because the process isn’t standardized, the cheese varies in flavor. The label of Beehive Cheese products contains a batch number that includes when the cheese was produced. Depending on whether the milk is from the summer or the winter, the buttercream levels are altered, affected the flavor. Beehive Cheese, also upholds an authentic aging process, which is part of the definition of artisan cheesemaking. Traditional standardized cheese makers who might have medium cheddars aged for 2 months, and a sharp cheddar aged for 2.5 months with a quickening agent, Beehive products are often aged for 16-18 months naturally. You can find Beehive Cheese in some Harmons, Sunflower Market (Midvale), Caputos Market as well as local farmers markets and Salt Lake City restaurants.
Other popular flavors are Cajun Rubbed, Seahive (rubbed with local honey and salt), Promontory (tastes like a cheddar) and Aggiano, named for the Utah State Aggie’s.

Go. Buy. Eat. Enjoy.
You will love it.

this post was written by my beautiful and classy friend, Halen Seevinck, who blogs at In Life, In Breath, In Being. Check our her blog for more tasteful and exquisite reads!

As a fun bonus we snagged this recipe for the Broccoli Cheese Soup that we enjoyed on the tour. Compliments to The Viking Cooking School.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup, made with Beehive Cheese’s Promontory Cheddar
from The Viking Cooking School
serves 4

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup yellow onions or sliced leeks (white parts only, well rinsed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon each chopped fresh thyme and rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock or canned, low- sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed and separated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups shredded Beehive Promontory Cheddar

DIRECTIONS
In a medium pot, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, until fragrant, for 20 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand- held immersion blender. (Alternatively, in batches, puree in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.)

Add the cream and bring to bare simmer to heat through. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter, stirring to blend.

Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls.

Check out another local foodie’s review of Beehive Cheese at Foodie SL, UT