Noble Springs Dairy
Alice Waters introduced the goat cheese salad at her Berkeley, Cal., restaurant, Chez Panisse, in the early 1970s. Walk into most any restaurant today, however, and goat cheese is on the menu. But the...
Maid-N-Meadow Farmstead Cheese
What draws you to Maid N Meadow’s booth at the Richland Park Farmers’ Market is not the selection of cheese available for sampling, but the “very official” 8-year-old boy standing behind the table.
“Would you like to try some cheese?” Philo beckons you to his booth giving you a toothpick before you even answer. Who can resist the charms of an 8-year-old boy in suspenders with the politeness of a generation gone by? This is Maid N Meadows, a small cheese company run by Daniel Showalter and family in Windsor, Kentucky.
Photo 1: The Showalter family: from left to right, back row, Karson, Daniel, Keely holding Beulah, Jaden, and Jacob Four boys, back left to right: Philo, Rowan, Gideon and Pilgrim.
Photo 2: Maid N Meadow's wheel of Cara Bonita Cheese
However Daniel Showalter is anything but old fashioned. Maid N Meadow has a website, online ordering, delivery and cell phones. Daniel believes that if we network more we can accomplish some good that is profound. And he lives by that mantra in his work and family life.
Daniel’s grandfather ran a dairy and so did his uncle and great uncles. The family kept 2 or 3 cows for milk. He cannot remember a time he didn’t enjoy being around them. At the age of nine he started milking for a neighbor's commercial dairy on weekends. By the time he was in his twenties he was milking his own cows. It was then that he became disenchanted and left the Mennonite community. He also became increasingly frustrated with commercial practices that were hard on the cows, encouraged soil erosion, and used harmful chemicals. He knew there was a better way. Fast forward 12 years and Daniel and his wife Keely and their blended family of 8, farm and make cheese in Windsor, Kentucky. Their cheese is made from 100% raw milk from their grass fed cows. They produce a variety of cheeses from Gouda to Swiss to Lashae to Cara Bonita.
You can find Maid N Meadow cheese at Produce Place, The Herban Market, or order Maid N Meadow's online at maidnmeadows.com.
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