The most anticipated event of the year, Green Feast is an unforgettable evening – a community celebration of local food taking place on a September evening on the fields of South Coast Farm. Over the next month, The Ecology Center is pleased to highlight the local purveyors who make this event possible.

Spotlight on Green Feast 2010 Purveyor: Winchester Cheese

Winchester Cheese Company is owned and operated by Jules Wesselink who was born and raised in Haarlem, Holland. Jules has operated his own dairies in California since the 1950′s. As the metropolitan Los Angeles area has grown Jules’s dairies have moved from Artesia to Chino, and now to Winchester. The dairy now has 500 Holstein cows located in a beautiful setting.

BOERE KAAS, which means “Home made on the farm”, is the favorite choice of cheese-loving Holland. In a class by itself, it is distinguished by its delicious and unique flavor in comparison to cheese mass-produced in factories. Winchester cheese is made by Valerie Thomas, Jules Wesselink’s daughter, and David Thomas, her husband.

Cheese is made on the farm in Winchester in the same natural way, using the same natural ingredients and fresh raw milk. According to Winchester Farms, “We age it like fine wine, to perfection, to bring out its natural goodness.”

In July of 2006, Winchester’s sharp gouda won the bronze medal at the prestigious World Cheese Awards in London, England.

Want more details on how Winchester makes their award-wining cheese? Visit their site! Really love cheese? You can also join their cheese club.