Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese

Good Food Ireland® Approved Since 2014

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Overview

Bluebell Falls Artisan Cheese is a family-run business in County Cork and it makes Bluebell Falls Goat’s Cheese, which is a traditionally crafted, great tasting, young goat’s cheese.

Meet The Maker

Bluebell Falls Artisan Cheese is run by Victor and Breda O’Sullivan. As a child, Victor was plagued by a weak constitution. His mother was at her wit’s end not knowing what to do to help him. One day, a travelling lady came to the door of the O’Sullivan family farmhouse in Carrignavar, Co. Cork. During their chat, Mrs O’Sullivan Senior happened to mention her son’s health. ‘Sure, I have the very thing that’ll cure that’, said the lady.

Victor’s mother was duly summoned to the lady’s place of residence in West Cork, where she was given a brown nanny goat. ‘Give him the goat’s milk and see if that doesn’t make him better.’ the lady said.

Sure enough, goat’s milk did make him better. From then on his mother kept goats and drank goat’s milk at mealtimes. Victor never looked back. Goat’s milk is still served as an alternative to cow’s milk in his own home today.

Victor was brought up with goats and had kept a herd on his own farm since 2007. He bought Bluebell Falls Goat’s Cheese in 2013 from cheesemaker Paul Keane and transferred its production from Clare to Cork. Today, he manages the 220-strong herd of Bluebell Falls goats.

Victor and Breda O’Sullivan run Bluebell Falls Artisan Cheese. Breda is the cheesemaker, but really she is a magic maker, turning goat’s milk into flavourful cheese.

At Bluebell Falls Farm a mix of breeds – white Saanen and brown Toggenburg from Switzerland, plus black and white British Alpine goats – graze happily outside the back door. The free range goats graze on the grass and wild shrubs on the family farm (they particularly like ivy). This mix of breeds and free grazing provides a high yield of milk with the right balance of richness and taste.

Breda oversees every aspect of production and packaging. Morning and evening milk is used to make each daily batch of Bluebell Falls. Production takes place from March to November. It’s a traditional natural process, with milk transferred direct from the milking parlour to the dairy each day. Milk is chilled, pasteurised, and made into curds with vegetarian rennet.

Once set, the curds are hung to strain for several hours in natural muslin bags before the cheese is salted, rolled into a traditional log shape and hand packed. This is a young goat’s cheese, ready to eat a couple of days after making. It contains less than 1% salt.

The diversity of breed, grazing on delicious shrubs and careful cheese making techniques all give Bluebell Falls a delicate milky taste and creamy consistency. This Cork cheese is perfect for salads, cooking and cheese boards. Bluebell Falls comes in soft logs in a variety of flavours; Natural, Honey, Garlic and Thyme, and Black Pepper and Garlic.

Look out for it in local shops near its home in Charleville, selected delis and fine food shops nationwide. It’s also on the menus of some of the best eating establishments in Ireland. Chefs love it. You will too.


Sustainability

Everything happens on the family farm. The goats in the field are milked – every day – in the milking parlour. The milk is then transferred directly to the dairy immediately next to the milking parlour. You can’t get much more sustainable than zero food miles.


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