Day: January 3, 2016

Eric Page chats to Kristen Schnepp who makes award-winning, delicious artisan Mexican cheese at her urban dairy in Peckham.

Why ‘Gringa Dairy’?
It’s honest. ‘Gringa’ is the feminine of ‘gringo’; this is white girl dairy. I’m not Mexican and didn’t want any concern about cultural appropriation. As LGBT it’s important to have respectful allies, I’m trying to be one in return.

Selfridges is a pretty good place to be selling your cheeses, that’s successful?
Like any small business, it’s hard work, worry and a few tears. We’re niche at a time when the UK is coming to love Mexican food and rediscovering its passion for artisan products. I’m exceedingly proud to contribute to the trend.

Does where you live affect how you make cheese?
Absolutely. We have to alter our processes as some traditional techniques are not met with love by food safety in the UK. They act like raw milk is a relative to nitro-glycerine, so we work within narrow parameters. We use British milk so have crafted cheeses that taste authentic and can be used in place of similar cheeses you’d use in Mexico. Our Queso Fresco cheese can be used in recipes where you might use Ranchero, Panela or other fresh cheeses.

What brought you to Peckham?
It’s the right proximity to the farm where I get my milk and central London. It’s efficient to move the milk and be close to customers rather than moved finished cheese from the country.

Your cheese has quite a specific tone and voice, what makes it taste like that?
Now if I told you that… A lot of science as well as art is required. I’m always tinkering – milk is essentially a living ingredient. It changes daily and with the seasons.

What’s your biggest headache?
Administration. The documentation requirements are rather insane.

What’s your typical working day?
I get up every morning at 4am to collect milk and then fall in bed at 9.30pm after 14 hours of making cheese and running the business.

When was the last time you cried?

What time is it? Okay, not really. I have openly wept over the cheese vat. Starting your own business is amazing, but it’s also freaking scary. I think it’s important to own that and not be afraid to talk about it.

You’ve been called a ‘Cheese Queen’ but you are a lesbian, how does that make you feel?
I kinda love it. I’m almost 47 and been ‘out’ since I was 18. I was very concerned with language and labels and identity for many years. However, I admit to having passed the baton on getting fussed about it. Don’t get me wrong, the issues around gender and sexual identity are still incredibly important. But personally, it made me giggle and wish there was some bling associated with the honour.

Where did you meet your partner?
We met in a coffee shop on Valencia Street in San Francisco in 1995 after being connected through newspaper personal ads. I wasn’t even sure there would be a second date, but here we are – married four times! The first was a commitment ceremony way before legal marriage was ever dreamed of. The rest were in the journey of getting to a legal marriage.

Which cheese did you have at your wedding reception?
It was 1998, I so can’t remember what we ate. I sang to her as we danced to Fly Me To The Moon and it was magic.

Your perfect cheesy threesome?
I do love an evening in with the Mrs and a lovely Vacherin… just sayin.

Who would paint your portrait – Mabel Alvarez or Frida Kahlo de Rivera?
Tough one, Frida for sure.

What’s your take on Little Miss Muffet?
She needs to get off her tuffet.

Curds or Whey?
Curds are the heart of the business; whey is a vital environmental responsibility. Did you know that 75-90% of each litre of milk eventually becomes ‘waste’ in the form of whey? Mine goes to feed pigs. This reduces the feed costs of the farmer and allows me to get my by-product as high in the food chain as I can.

Any new projects?
I’m working on a new cheese and I’m focused on growing the business.

Where can we taste and find your cheese?
You can get a taste at lots of Mexican and Latin restaurants in London and beyond. Folks can buy from several Whole Foods stores, Selfridges and independent retailers and online orders can be placed with the Cool Chile Company.

What’s your favourite cheesy joke?
That’s nacho cheese!

To find stockists and a partial list of customers, click here:

GRINGA DAIRY COMPETITION

Win a taster pack of Gringa Dairy’s best-selling cheeses.

Send an email to info@gscene.com with ‘Cheese Queen’ in the subject and with your answer to the questions below. Competition open to UK residents only.

Name two cheeses you can buy online from Gringa Dairy.