89th annual cheese show

By Stephanie Clue

BELLEVILLE – The cheese fight started in 1928.

The Central Ontario Cheese Maker Association started British Empire Cheese Show 88 years ago.

The show was established for cheese makers to have the chance to compete with others in the British Empire.

“We think it was a matter of one guy saying to another that my cheese is better than yours,” said Alan Gibbons, the director of the Central Ontario Cheese Maker Assocation. There were about 150 makers when the show first started.

There’s still competition among the cheese makers. But it’s also about showcasing the cheese.

The show is home to more than 200 different cheeses from across Canada, according to the associations website.

The secretary for the association, Wendy Gibbons, said the show had to open early Wednesday morning because the line was out the door.

“We had about a hundred people through here just this morning and this is our first chance to refill the tables,” she said.

The show used to have entries from all over the world. But now all of the cheese available is strictly from Canada.

But the cheese fights aren’t what they used to be. Part of the reason according to Gibbons is that there is a critical lack of cheese makers.

“One plant that I do consulting work with has been looking for a cheese maker for the last four years. The guy there wants to retire, but they keep bending his arm to stay for one more year.”

Gibbons said the hours of work for cheese makers suck. It’s hard work with a lot of heavy lifting, and it can get very hot and humid in a dairy plant.

“If you are any good at making cheese, you will never be unemployed,” he said.

Maple Dale cheese maker Wayne Lain, says the shows are one of his favourite parts of cheese making. Photo by Stephanie Clue, QNet News

Maple Dale Cheese‘s resident cheese maker, Wayne Lain, is a fourth generation cheese maker and has been in the business for 35 years. Lain is the only licensed cheese maker at Maple Dale. He attended a six month program in Kemptville, Ont.

“You have to know how to make cheese before you take the course, it just teaches the science behind it,” he said.

Cheese making is usually a trade passed down generation to generation. Lain’s two sons work at Saputo cheese in Trenton.

Campbellford cheese maker Mark Irwin gets up at two in the morning everyday to make cheese. Photo by Stephanie Clue, QNet News

Mark Irwin is one of three cheese makers at the Empire Cheese Factory in Campbellford, Ont. He has been working at the factory for the last ten years. His first experience with making cheese was a summer job he took at a local cheese plant.

“I like being busy and cheese making is hard work. Physically, it is a fair strain on your body, so it keeps you from getting too out of shape and keeps you pretty healthy. A disadvantage to making it is that you’re up at 2 o’clock in the morning when everyone else is asleep,” said Irwin.

Irwin says they didn’t have enough time to make cheese for the show happening this week.

Keith Henry has owned Maple Dale Cheese for thirty years and has been in the dairy business since 1970. He worked for Labatts, which had a dairy branch. When the business began consolidating, he decided to try owning a cheese factory on his own.

“I had great experience in the industry on how to make money. I was down in Stirling at the plowing match and a good friend who was with the Ontario Milk Commission told me that Maple Dale was for sale. I contacted the president and proceeded to buy it,” Henry said.

Henry said he enjoys the small business atmosphere much more. He has his son working with him and said that when you work with family, they have to get the job done.

“The cheese business is a living business,” Henry said.