The Vernon Sun Newspaper Dec 13.1998

by.Russ Niles
sun reporter

It's the perfect complement to the burgeoning cottate wine industry and microbrewery trade.

The Village Cheese Company, B.C.'s first micro cheese plant, opens this week in Armstrong and it's already churning up a lot of attention.

"There's a lot of pent up interest," said owner Dwight Johnson.

Johnson, an Armstrong druggist and developer, said he saw the tremendous success of the small wineries and breweries and decided to apply the same concept to the Village Cheese Co.

"Agritourism is the business we're in," he said.

Johnson said the idea is to bring customers as close to the production of the cheese as possible.

Unfortunately, health regulations put a wall between patrons and the actual cheesemaking equipment. But a row of stools along a wall of plate glass gives customers an excellent view of the production area. Johnson said the cheesemaking itself is part of what they are selling so the production is geared to the business hours of the retail area.

"There,will:always be something going dn in there for people to see, Johnson said. "We're here for the experience."

Cheesemakers will be available to talk to customers, particularly the large number of bus tours that are expecled to go through the attractive facility.

In addition to cheese, the plant will make its own ice cream, butter, Devonshire cream, some baked goods and country-style souvenirs.

"But the cheese will be the centrepiece," he said.

Johnson has hired one of thr best cheesemakers in Canada but he didn't have to go far to find him. Ivan Matte was the former cheesemaker at Dairyland's Armstrong plant and said he jumped at the chance to join Johnson's enterprise. Matte made the Armstrong cheese that won a world championship twice in the last lour years.

He said he's confident the new plant will win a string of ribbons at future competitions.

In fact, he said, the very first batch of white cheddar, made last Tuesday, turned out so well it will be sent to the British Empire competition in BelIeville, Ont. next month; "It's a good cheese," he said.

Matte said Dairyland, by necessity, is production oriented. He said the cheese made by his former employer is as good as any mass produced cheese but he's looking forward to having the time and flexibility to really practice his art.

Matte is a third generation cheese maker whose family ran small cheese plants in Quebec. He said the opportunity to work with the product and coax it to perfection like his father and grandfather before him convinced him to join the enterprise. "Our intent is to prove we're number one," he said.

The plant will make old-fashioned cheddar, made in the traditional method, and a variety of specialty cheeses.

The main tank will hold 7,000 kg of milk and produce about 650 kg of cheese in one run. But there are smaller tanks where Matte can experiment and make small runs of specialty products.

All will be for sale in the retail store and they will be wholesaled to delicatessens and grocery stores as well. The plant was designed and built by Hubert Besner, a 50-year cheesemaker and former colleague of Matte's at Dairyland.

Although small by modern standards, Besner said the equipment is top quality

The plant will be able to produce about 1,100 kg of cheese a day when it's in full production.