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Jersey Blue

Bleuchâtel

have to be happy, otherwise you get stressed not there, and I was received by his son, and
cow milk”, he says. His talent and work ethic we had an interesting discussion rather than a
enable him to produce excellent, sustainable question-and-answer exchange. The son showed
cheese, in partnership with nature he refines his me his father’s medals, his world awards for
craft to precision that is respectful of nature and Jersey Blue, among others, and the cheeses he
kandinsky on your plate animals. The documentary shows this loving named after his wife and children. I was shown
all sacred blue cheeses and invited to taste them
production in a way that inspires us to think and
– or Swiss cheesemakers waltzing with colours feel more deeply about our environment if we all, and the taste was divine. Jersey cheese is a Willi Schmid
buttery blue cheese made with Jersey cow milk.
want to tackle the much-needed changes to live
(Some tips on how to surprise your guests at the festive table) sustainably in the world. It tastes creamy and delicious, with black pepper medal for
Jersey Bleu
notes from the blue mould. The distribution of
His most successful cheese is Jersey Blue. It is blue mould is very free and organic, a product
By Evelina Rioukhina not an ordinary blue cheese; it is a designed one. of hand-ladling curds into a mould, creating
Willi crafts his cheese the way a great artist crafts pockets where the two types of blue develop.
Painting with the Blue, or Kandinsky on values of Switzerland. his paintings, making them impossible to truly Willi Schmid says about his cheese that “...it
your plate. Haute couture, haute joaillerie, reproduce. His own production secrets are unlike has an unmistakable, deliciously nutty aroma
haute horlogerie... These names usually refer When I saw some posters of his cheese, I was any other cheesemaker in the world, making with a slightly smoky note. The paste is soft,
to something exclusive, outstanding, unusual sure that they were pieces of art, reminding me Jersey Blue unique. He makes four or five types very creamy, and has a yellowish colour: this
or difficult to achieve, requiring special effort, of Kandinsky, or Chagall. It was unimaginable of blues, the largest number any cheesemaker has is the characteristic of Jersey milk with its high
investment and artistry. But what about ‘haute to believe that those are actually the cheeses of invented, each “crafted” in a different design of beta-carotene content.” We also discussed some
fromagerie’? Have you ever heard of it? If not, Willi Schmid. They are as beautiful as avant- “haute fromagerie”. Blue cheeses are among the of the secrets that turn Willi’s Jersey Blue into
then I am coining the term, as that is exactly garde paintings; they can be contemplated and trickiest to produce, with a fine balance between “Kandinsky paintings” and why it is not like any
how I felt when visiting many brilliant Swiss are inspirational, thought-provoking. The only fermentation and the introduction of a fungus, other blue cheese in the world. Of course, those
cheesemakers. Some of them are big stars in the difference is that not only can one look at them and Willi Schmidt is a true artist in his judgments are their family secrets and heritage, and they
cheese galaxies, creating wonders. Among these and feel their impact, but it is also possible to and decisions. His famous Jersey Blue, have will be kept with my high respect and admiration
stars, however, one shines brightest, and that is taste and eat them and thus appreciate them achieved world recognition, such as the World for the work of the Grand Maestro.
Willi Schmid. differently. Cheese Award in 2014. This made Willi Schmid
and his Jersey Blue a sensation, a “coqueluche” of Willi Schmid is not the only Swiss cheese-maker
He has been called a wonder, a miracle, a cheese Willi Schmid is a poet or artist by his forms cheese-lovers and world gastronomy. who is waltzing with the blue. In fact, blue
genius, or cheese Maestro. Someone once and images, and especially by his feelings cheese was re-invented in Switzerland not that
named him a “cheese whisperer,” which seemed and perceptions. No wonder he inspired a Being fascinated by this person and his artistic long ago, by Didier Germain, the owner of the
particularly apt as he whispers his talent not documentary, telling the story of his extraordinary blue cheese “paintings,” as well as feeling a huge dairy “Fromagerie des Martels” near Neuchâtel.
only to cheese, but to nature and to everything gift (“Willi Schmid – Master of Cheese”, 2022). respect for his strong patriotic values and deep At the 1990s Didier Germain travelled to
that surrounds him because he is such an artistic Every morning, he decides what cheese he will empathy with nature, I decided to visit him in France to learn how to make blue cheese. But
person. He not only crafts and creates his cheese, produce based on feelings: whether the milk is Lichtensteig, a small town in the Canton of St the producers did not share their secrets, and
he “paints” it. He himself says he breathes into flowery or with a hint of caramel. He can also tell Gallen. He creates his masterpieces here and Germain decided to experiment. It took him
it not only his love for nature but also his love how the cow was feeling, its temper and mood, runs a shop where people can taste and buy several years and many tests before he made
for his motherland, his country: the roots and and knows their names and habits. “The cows directly from him. When I arrived, Willi was and registered his first successful blue cheese.

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