Jo sóc formatgera

Picture it: you roll out of bed - it's 6:30 am.  Darkness still outside your window.  Pull on the same clothes you wore all week.  Head up the stairs, tripping every time because they're uneven; old farm houses are like that.  Cup of Earl Grey with milk and honey from Catalunya, bread and jam.  Out the door - it's 7:00 am.  Faint blue to the sky while you walk across the driveway.  You can see the silhouette of pine forest mountains and the cheesemake.  Walk in.  Today is raw sheep's milk and pasteurized goat's milk and the curds smell so good. 

I'm currently in Borredà, Spain in the low Pirineus ("Pyrénées" in Catalan) north of Barcelona.  Personal connections seem to be everything in career and this is another example.  While at MonS, I met a few interns from Madrid.  In conversation I expressed an interest in learning to make Garrotxa, a cheese favorite I discovered while working as a cheesemonger.  Antonio, who works at Poncelet cheese shop, told me to be in touch because he knew a great Garrotxa maker.  So now I'm at Formatge Bauma working with Toni Chueca and learning to make my favorite cheese.  Thank you Antonio!

All city dwellers by birth but rural at heart, Toni, his wife Rosa and seven friends moved to the country in 1980.  Their shared house, La Bauma (The Cave), was rented and had no electricity.  Slowly the friends moved to their own homes while Toni and Rosa stayed for six years, building their non-electricity-dependent agricultural life.  Whoever said that thing was "essential" anyway? 

In 1986, the couple, with their two children, purchased and moved into their current home at La Solana (The Sunny Place).  They expanded their goat and cheese business, then sold their goat herd to have more time for themselves.  The kids left to pursue their own careers, and Toni and Rosa now enjoy electricity.




So here I am.  Stay tuned for more on cheesemaking, Garrotxa, discovering the Pirineus by foot and fork, and my perilous attempt at communicating in Catalan.