Who we are.
In 1979 Helene and Dick Willems decided to start making cheese from milk produced on their small farm in the beautiful mountains of Coolea, in West Cork. It all started as a hobby and soon developed into a small enterprise and the good name of "Coolea Cheese," was quickly known all over the country. In 1991 their son Dicky joined the crew and by 1993 became the main cheesemaker, giving Dick and Helene more time to focus on events and promotion. You'll often find them sharing all they know at food markets and other foodie events across the country.
Already 1983 brought our first national recognition, by winning "The best Irish
farmhouse Cheese award" in Clones, Co. Monaghan. Sales increased rapidly,
local as well as national. The next step was distribution. Horgans
Delicatessen in Mitchelstown and Traditional Cheese Company in Dublin were the
answer to this problem. They have
done a great job promoting our product nation-wide.
Coolea Cheese is made from full cream cows milk. Nothing is taken out and
nothing is added. By heating the milk and adding a starter (a special culture
of lactic acid bacteria) and natural rennet (an enzyme from the stomach of a
calf), the process is started. After about thirty minutes, the milk is
converted into a curd cake. This is then cut into small pieces and liquid
(whey) is drained off. The curds are washed and heated until they are ripe
enough to be put into moulds. By pressing the curds for about six hours the
cheese is made.
Many national and international awards followed, with the climax in 1990 when we
won the first prize in the "London International Cheese Show" in 1991 when we
were voted Supreme Champions at the Dublin Springshow, in 1997 we won 2 awards
at " The British Cheese Awards " (Best Modern British Cheese and the Best Irish
Cheese.) In 1999 Coolea was judged to be of gold standard at the British
Cheese Awards and supreme champion at the IFEX in Belfast . And in 2000 Coolea
won supreme champion at “THE BRITISH CHEESE AWARDS” after also winning best
Irish and best modern British at the same venue. Again in 2007 Coolea won the
Best Irish and Best Modern British awards at the British Cheese awards. We
entered the World cheese awards in 2008 for the first time and won the best
Mature Gouda category and also won supreme champion at the Listowel Food fair.
Expanding our small enterprise, by 1987 a complete new cheeseplant was build, including an air-conditioned storage system with a capacity of 15 tons and a production capacity of 25 tons. Varieties such as Coolea Matured, Herbs and Garlic, and Cumin Seed, were introduced in to our product range. Maintaining quality became our first priority, and still is.
Coolea Cheese is made from a very old Dutch Gouda recipe. Using high quality pasteurised cows milk, Coolea Cheese is ripened to a minimum of two months. Its texture is semi-hard to hard, and when matured up to 18 months its taste becomes sweet, almost like toffee! Coolea Cheese is now sold all over Ireland, the United Kingdom, Wales, Scotland and pretty much all over the world, thanks to our cheeesemongers.
The product is special because of the personal care in producing and obtaining the milk and subsequently manufacturing the cheese. To keep up this high quality from raw material to finished product, Coolea Cheese can only grow slowly. But we can steer the production more towards the export market by producing more cheese for long maturation. Coolea matured is a product that can mature for at least 12 months and sometimes up to two years and still improve.
Neal's Yard Dairy, London, Sheridans Cheesemongers, Galway and Dublin, and several other smaller distributors export Coolea cheese all over the world to an ever-growing market. Our objective is to grow with our main outlets and to consolidate our long lasting relationships
Coolea Cheese is made from a very old Dutch Gouda recipe. Using high quality pasteurised cows milk, Coolea Cheese is ripened to a minimum of two months. Its texture is semi-hard to hard, and when matured up to 18 months its taste becomes sweet, almost like toffee! Coolea Cheese is now sold all over Ireland, the United Kingdom, Wales, Scotland and pretty much all over the world, thanks to our cheeesemongers.
The product is special because of the personal care in producing and obtaining the milk and subsequently manufacturing the cheese. To keep up this high quality from raw material to finished product, Coolea Cheese can only grow slowly. But we can steer the production more towards the export market by producing more cheese for long maturation. Coolea matured is a product that can mature for at least 12 months and sometimes up to two years and still improve.
Neal's Yard Dairy, London, Sheridans Cheesemongers, Galway and Dublin, and several other smaller distributors export Coolea cheese all over the world to an ever-growing market. Our objective is to grow with our main outlets and to consolidate our long lasting relationships
