Haltwhistle Cheese

Cory Spencer and Kirsten Thorarinson moved to Vancouver Island in 2010 with a dream of producing some of the best cheese around. Growing little by little each year, that dream became a reality in 2014 when The Happy Goat Cheese Company made the first batch of cheese in our newly licensed production facility. Our farm is home to over 100 curious, fe... isty, and jovial goats who spend most of their days grazing our lush, green pasture. We are thankful for the amazing milk they produce for us without it our cheeses wouldnt be the same! In 2018 we made a big change and began producing cows milk cheese alongside our beloved goats milk varieties. We are lucky to have Balme Ayr Farm and their delicious Ayrshire milk just a short drive from us their milk is perfect for rich, indulgent cheeses! With this change came a new nameHaltwhistle Cheese Company. Fine cheeses, hand crafted in the Cowichan Valley. Karen is an aspiring farmer with an interest in artisanal food and wine. She moved to the Cowichan Valley in 2016 after working in the wine industry and obtaining a degree in Hotel and Food Administration at the University of Guelph. Her passion for cheese began in 2013 while conducting wine and cheese seminars at Ravine Vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake and has since flourished through her apprenticeship at Haltwhistle. She has now taken on the role of cheesemaker & affineur. Cory began his dairying career in 2009, when he travelled to France and England to learn to make cheese from small farmstead cheesemakers. Upon returning to Canada in 2010, he bought a small herd of goats and, along with his wife Kirsten, started selling goats milk to local cheesemakers. By 2014, they had finished the construction of their own cheese plant, and began producing a range of raw milk cheeses, sold through farmers markets, cheese shops, and restaurants in British Columbia. Today, Cory acts as both the plant manger oversees all cheesemaking, affinage, and herd management. Kirsten was born and raised in the Cowichan Valley. After several ...Read More