Wisconsin? Yes. Imported? Of course. Vermont? Sure. But Maryland cheese?
Yes, indeed.
For the serious locavores – people who want to exclusively eat locally produced foods – of the Eastern Shore, there is so much more available than produce! Eric and Holly Foster of Chapel’s Creamery, located in Easton, Md., have been selling their handcrafted artisanal cheeses commercially for about five years now. Recently, they started to make and sell yogurt, too.
The farm boasts about 112 acres and more than 100 grass-fed cows. Eric, from Easton, comes from a line of dairy farmers Holly, originally from Denton, Md., was new to the work, although she did have an innate hard-work ethic and an appreciation for homemade goods that came from her family.
“My grandparents were small farmers – they always had a garden,” recalled Holly. “My grandmother was always gardening and canning and making pies and syrups. Part of who I am is because of her, and, believe it or not, she was from Wisconsin.”
Before the couple became farmers, Holly, a stay-at-home mom, would make cheeses and ice cream and yogurt, so it was not that much of a stretch to start using their own milk to make an authentic Maryland product.
The small family-run dairy farm allows the cows to graze, as opposed to being in a feedlot situation where hundreds of cows are together in a building with a concrete floor. Their cows can graze on grasses, as nature intended, but Holly said that it is still a highly “managed” process.
“We added irrigation this summer, and we plant different types of grasses,” she said, “so they have grass from early in spring until December. It’s free, natural food that doesn’t burn any fuel. And the cows are a lot healthier. They don’t want to be inside, standing on concrete. They are not designed for that. So they get sunshine and eat green grasses.”
She said that, because of that, higher amounts of Omega 3 get into the milk, “which totally makes it a superior milk.”
Now, they also offer yogurt, in addition to their cheeses, and that process uses the milk while it is still warm, which saves them the energy of having to heat it up.
“It comes out at 94 degrees, into the filter and right into our equipment, and using the warm, fresh milk saves a lot on energy,” she said, adding that the first step in making yogurt – and cheese – is heating the milk up, which is something they can skip by using the freshest milk.
“It’s not stored and hauled and messed with – making it a better milk,” she added.
Holly and her husband, Eric, always knew they would do something more than farming to keep food on the table.
“As dairy farmers, we knew you can’t buy a farm, a herd and a tractor and think that milk prices would pay the bills ’cause it’s not. It was always in the back of his mind,” said Holly of husband Eric.
Once a week, Holly goes to Lancaster, Pa., to work with an Amish artisanal cheesemaker to produce their cheese. The fresh, raw milk — anywhere from 12 to 24 hours old — is mixed with cultures, which add the flavor to the cheese. They then add vegetable-based rennet and stir the heated milk until it gets to a custard-like consistency. Then they cut the curd into small cubes. The cubes are then cooked and stirred in the whey that was taken off earlier.
“Little Miss Muffet knew what she was doing, because it is good,” joked Holly of the curds and whey.
The whey is then drained and the curds are stirred. They then add salt and any herbs or spices. The cheese is then molded, depending on the type of cheese, and it is packaged. The couple’s chapel cheeses are then put into a cave to give a unique flavor.
One of their bestsellers, according to Holly, is the Talbot Reserve, a one-year cave-aged cheddar. In fact, just recently, the Fosters were sought out by chef Wolfgang Puck of The Source restaurant in Washington, D.C. Because of exposure to their product through the Washington, D.C., Farmer’s Market, Puck stopped and bought a huge block of the famous cheddar, and they will now be using the local cheese at his restaurant.
The creamery also produces a Chapelle Cave-Aged Cheese, aged at least two months; Chapel Cheddar, a moist and creamy cheddar with a touch of sharpness; a Crab Spice Cheddar Cheese that adds J.O. crab spice to their cheddar, which they said is best served with Maryland crabs or a seafood dish, or melted over crab dip or crab soup; and Garlic and Chive Cheddar Cheese, which the couple recommends melted on sandwiches, twice-baked potatoes and macaroni-and-cheese.
Holly expressed much gratitude at being able to watch the whole cheesemaking process from the beginning, when the cows are eating grass, to the milking, to making the cheese, all the way to meeting supportive state officials and selling it to famous chefs.
“I have to say, it’s such a blessing,” she said. “I grew up in town, and to go from a stay-at-home mom to running a full-time, full-tilt business that’s doing well … days like today, with the rain, are perfect. The cows are just hanging out, chewing their cud.”
Holly said future plans for the business could include ice cream-making, depending on whether their kids want to get more involved, and maybe making the farm more of an educational center. But, for now, they are concentrating on their cows and their cheeses.
Not only do they have an exceptional product health-wise, they make it a point to have a sustainable operation.
The farm recently received the Talbot County Soil Conservation Award for environmental friendly operation for soil, air and water quality concerns. The Fosters are an example of how to take care of the land. Having grass-fed cows allows them to eliminate the need for toxic fertilizers, which is a win-win when they are located so close to the bay.
“Eventually, we’d like it to be more of an educational place, to educate people about where their food comes from. But, right now, we are really busy. There is always something to do,” said Holly of dairy farming.
Chapel’s Creamery cheeses can be found during the summer at the weekly Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach, Del., farmers’ markets. They can also be found at McCabes’ Gourmet Market in South Bethany, Del., and Fifer Orchards Fresh market in Dewey Beach, Del.
They also have online ordering available and stock many stores in their area, including in Easton, Denton, St. Michael’s, Cordova and Cambridge, Md., as well as in the areas around Washington D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis and Alexandria, Va.
For more information, visit www.chapelscountrycreamery.com.
