Meet Rachel, Our Creamery Manager
Winner Winner Cheese for Dinner!
Before we get into my chat with Rachel, I’d like to take a moment to extend a heartfelt thank you to Rachel, our Creamery Manager, cheesemaker, and her team for their outstanding achievement in brining home a Good Food Award 2024 for our chubby little Prufrock.
Rachel’s dedication, hard work and exceptional performance have not gone unnoticed. This award is a testament to her talent, commitment to excellence and her team’s persistent drive for the perfect cheese! I am truly grateful for all that she brings to our entire team and I am honored to have her here with us. Please join me in congratulating Rachel and our creamery crew for this well-deserved recognition. Thank you, Rachel, for your continued dedication and for being an inspiration to us all.
With this award I thought it was a perfect time for all of you to meet Rachel. I stepped into the creamery the other morning to say hello …
Hi Rachel … I can’t remember where you grew up. Can you remind me?
I grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
Seeing as how you work with cheese all day, was it your favorite food growing up? Or was there something else you loved as a kid?
Probably my Dad's Brisket. KC is a BBQ town, with a focus on beef. His brisket was always my favorite.
How did you end up becoming a cheesemaker? What’s your story?
Farming is something that is deeply interwoven in the fabric of the Midwest. It was never something that was foreign to me, but I didn't spend too much time thinking about it either. That changed after high school, when I started cooking in restaurant kitchens around town. I started getting really interested in the role that the farmers played, growing and producing these ingredients for the dishes we were making. I loved cooking for people, but the thought of starting at the source really intrigued me.
There was a sheep dairy just north of KC that hosted these dinners. They featured local chefs; offered a 5 course meal made entirely from products on the farm; that was cooked right there, on the land. I fell in love with that style of connecting people to their food, showing them what they were consuming and where it all started. It just so happened that the farm was looking to hire an apprentice cheesemaker, so I applied and have never looked back.
The combination of chemistry and art involved in a craft like cheesemaking ticks all the boxes for me. Add in animal husbandry (at other points in my life I have raised chickens, ducks, geese, goats, and sheep), and it's the perfect gig! (I don't play any role in the care of the animals here at Grey Barn, but you can bet I spend a lot of time with them.)
What's your go-to recipe this time of year?
My go to spring dish is always a frittata. I love how interchangeable the ingredients are, based on what we have in the farmstand and what fresh veggies sound most delicious at the time. With tons of meat/cheese/veggies to choose from, I never get sick of it! Recently, I have used this particular spring pea and ricotta recipe. I use Grey Barn Fromage Frais instead of ricotta, I definitely grab Grey Barn Eggs, and crisp up some Grey Barn Bacon to add in to make it extra indulgent!
If I asked you to choose what is your favorite thing we make here on the farm?
I'm especially in love with Bluebird Reserve right now. It is such a spectacular cheese, one that unfolds and changes as you eat it. It's the kind of thing I can eat solo as a dessert and get really happy about it. I also just finished a little heart-shaped lactic cheese only available for Mother’s Day in our Farrmstand.
Anything about your time so far here at the GB you want to share?
Regenerative farming, with high animal welfare is such a rare thing in our food system. It is very costly, not just to operate, but to pay the folks doing the work fair living wages. Places like Grey Barn are becoming more and more rare simply because this is not a very profitable business model. But it is the business model that is sustainable for our planet. When you buy meat and cheese from farms like Grey Barn, you're voting with your dollar. You're supporting agriculture that is done "right,” not harming the earth, and making sure to prioritize the greater good.
Come on one of tours & tastings, learn all about the farm and try all of the cheese from our creamery. We are taking reservations here.
I often see you walking with headphones in. Are you listening to any thing you love right now?
I love reading. Anything that can get me swept away in my imagination. I'm listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
In the summer months what do you find yourself up to in the evenings?
I love walking on the beaches. Philbin Beach up in Aquinnah is my go-to.
If you had to choose who are your favorite animal(s) on the farm?
Ice Cream, the orange cat, is so friendly and cute.
Anytime I need something to watch you always seem to be in the know. Do you have any must-see TV? Are you listening to anything right now?
I just discovered For All Mankind on AppleTV, and I'm kind of into it.
Do you have a dream vacation that isn’t the Vineyard?
The next vacation I'm dreaming about is to Mexico City for a food-based vacation. (The best kind of vacation!)
The end.