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I N N OVAT I O N 202 3 culturecheesemag.com 47 about to quit and invited him to help on the last day. "When we were done, I looked in awe at the rack of cheeses we had just made," Pekelharing says. "I drove home that night, just as the sun was setting, and for the first time in my life, felt like I had done something great." The following morning he went back, announcing he wanted to take over. Luckily, his wife Marieke was immediately on board, and the couple started making monthly trips to the village of Osmate in northern Italy to learn the art of cheesemaking under the tutelage of third-generation artisan cheesemaker Cesare Ribolzi. "I was convinced we could make the same quality cheese but with our own unique recipes, says Pekelharing." Marieke's background in chemistry would prove very handy when it came time to start experimenting. When they took over Oudwijker in 2015, the couple continued using the facilities at a dairy farm in Cothen, where the milk was (and still is) sourced. By 2019, however, they had built a The cheeses mentioned in this story are available at some of the Netherlands' best cheese shops, delicatessens, and restaurants. In Amsterdam, you'll find them at Fromagerie L'Amuse (Olympiaplein 125), or head to Lindenhoff Marché, a farm selling quality products from small-scale producers, located 20 minutes from the city center in the town of Baambrugge (Rijksstraatweg 21). For an unforgettable tasting experience and to learn more about these innovative cheeses, book a table at cheese restaurant, Kaasbar (Ferdinand Bolstraat 10, Amsterdam and Lijnmarkt 12, Utrecht). Twenty-four varieties of Dutch cheese are temptingly presented on a conveyor belt with imaginative and often unexpected pairings. Oudwijker's Colosso, for example, is served on a chocolate cookie and crowned with shavings of dark chocolate. All the cheeses are hand-picked from small-scale farmers, and wine tips are offered with each pairing. WHERE TO BUY small cheesemaking room with four aging cellars behind their house in Lopikerkapel. With the help of a small team, the Pekelharings make cheese twice a day, almost every day of the week, and workdays are long, often starting at 2:30 a.m. Their love for cheese coupled with hard work and dedication has paid off. The Pekelharings currently make six cheeses (two bloomy rinds, two washed rinds, and two blues) inspired by Alpine varieties such as taleggio and gorgonzola. Two of the cheeses— Colosso, a robust blue with an intensely herbal nose and complex flavors of licorice and dark chocolate; and Stella, a washed-rind cheese with the smoky savoriness of toasted nuts—are made with creamy buffalo's milk from a water buffalo farm in the town of Heusden. Like Trinks and Köning, the Pekelharings are proving that gouda isn't the only reason the Netherlands has earned a reputation as one of the world's most delicious (not to mention innovative) cheese destinations. c The handsome Holstein cattle at Köning's family farm. Most of the milk is sold, but a small quantity is used for her cheeses.