BC Business
We double dairy you to resist these cheese spots in B.C. (don’t worry, vegans, there’s a slice for you, too)
If you were hanging around Maple Ridge in 1902, you probably knew Jenna Bock and Emma Davison’s relatives—the sisters are part of a family that’s been dairy farming locally for five generations. Bock and Davison founded their own production facility, Golden Ears Cheesecrafters, in 2011. Cheeses like smoked gouda and maple havarti are available for purchase online and at the restaurant (yes, there’s grilled cheese on the menu), and they also host events like beer fests and weddings too… any cheese-loving couples want to get dairy-ed?
Agassiz-based Creekside Cheese + Creamery hosts an annual event called “Moo Let the Cows Out.” Need we say more? Founders Johannes and Julaine Treur welcome over 500 guests in the spring to behold the cinematic joy of cows going out to pasture. Work hard, frolic hard: the brown Swiss cows (and the Creekside team) have earned accolades at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and a 2024 Business Excellence Award from the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce. Their cheeses lean European classic: think gruyere, raclette, reblochon and morbier.
Little Qualicum Cheeseworks has an open (barn) door policy—the public can visit this Parksville-based dairy farm year-round. “We invite everyone to come to the farm and see our processes, learn about how we farm and why, meet the cows and get a glimpse into the cheesemaking process,” says co-owner Chelsea Enns. She and Albert Gorter bought the biz in 2021, but it’s been around since 2001. Besides offering tours and cheese (watch out Jack, there’s a Monterey Jill) the farm also has a café and an on-tap milk dispenser—bring your own container and fill up.
Spread’em Kitchen started at a farmers market in 2014, and people went nuts for the non-dairy cashew “cheeze” maker. “We would literally do cash deals in Starbucks parking lots because people couldn’t wait a week until the next farmers market,” founder Mellisa Mills remembers. Now, the company’s Richmond manufacturing facility supplies products like applewood smoked cashew cheeze and beet and balsamic cashew dip to more than 2,500 stores in Canada—and they’ve expanded into the U.S. this year.
Vancouver-based Benton Brothers Fine Cheese was founded by Jonah and Andrew Benton in 2007, after both made a pivot away from a life devoted to mechanical engineering. It’s a bit of a cheesy story, sure, but the pair’s passion for the product has placed them solidly in one of the province’s most iconic artisan spots: their shop in the bustling Granville Island Public Market serves over 200 varieties of raw-milk cheese.
Luigi Ornaghi is the big cheese at Tanto Latte, the Salmon Arm-based factory handmaking Italian soft cheeses out of milk from Okanagan cows. The company was established in 2018 (it’s a relatively fresh face on the dairy scene, but Ornaghi was already a pro with 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry). Tanto Latte’s bocconcini, burrata and provolone are treats for the home cook—or, if you’re less kitchen-inclined, you can grab some Tanto Latte ricotta cheese dumplings at the in-shop café called Chef Hans Comfort Foods.