Leitrim Hill Creamery: “The cornerstone of our business is connection.”

Our first port of call when visiting Sligo Farmers Market each Saturday morning is the cheese stall from Leitrim Hill Creamery. We love their fresh goats cheese and it brings back memories of our time being cheesemakers. In traditional cheesemaking there is a certain simplicity of turning fresh milk into cheese with the aid of a culture, a bit of rennet and salt and then there is the magic, the terroir, that is specific to every cheese, where the cheesemaker is simply the conduit of the microbial process, not visible to the naked eye, but the outcome can be tasted at the end. “Blessed are the cheesemakers”, as we say.

Lisa Gifford’s Mission

The Goat is relational”, says Lisa Gifford, “comes when called, does not wish to hurt you, responds to a gentle hand.” Having kept goats for the good part of 20 years we can very much relate to the ‘relational’. Meeting Lisa first in 2016, while working at The Organic Centre, we could sense a certain energy and determination and so the emergence of Leitrim Hill Creamery in 2021 comes to no surprise to us. Coming back to the home county of her grandparents was a lifelong dream of Lisa, but what attracted her to keep goats and make cheese? “Having productive farm animals was the goal”, she says, “I started with goats in Serbia, learned basic farmhouse cheese making there.” She talks about the goat as the earliest domesticated animal, giving milk which can provide protein, fats, vitamins and minerals for human health and explains that she chose to farm goats due to their ‘ongoing’ productivity (milk, meat, skins, horns, etc.)

What attracted her to make cheese, we want to know, and the answer is very interesting: “Making cheese is about having a quality edible protein. Goat cheese is about lower cholesterol and Vit A and a manageable amount of milk per animal.”

The Beginnings

By January 2017, Lisa had acquired some goats and a herd number, and began making cheese for herself and her neighbours as she felt it was a great way to connect with her community and keep herself busy. In 2021 she was joined by daughter Gypsy and her wife Richelle. How long did it take to develop their type of cheese, we wonder: “Here in Ireland we started with a ‘kitchen’ production and when we won awards and recognition of the ‘clean’ product, we progressed to a full functioning creamery in a converted typical Irish Hay barn.” Having started our own goats enterprise in 1985 in our cottage kitchen before moving to a purpose build cheese kitchen , we can very much appreciate this organic approach of developing.

What is special about Leitrim Hill cheese we ask: “Our cheese is about quality grass, quality goats, careful and respectful practices and sharing opportunities with others”, Lisa says. And like many traditional arthouse cheesemakers they use raw milk. “It is important to use natural home grown products for our own consumption and as a heathy product for others” Lisa explains, “industrially produced milk must remove natural agents and then decide what commercialised ingredients to return in order to have ‘milk’. The goat gives us clean milk, we use clean techniques, we respect departmental guidance both Agriculture and Health, and welcome advice from experienced cheesemakers.”

Favouring the artisanal over the industrial production of cheeses Lisa is convinced about the “real value of food which is appropriate for human health and the reduction of medical complaints”. The former nurse says: “We are privileged to understand the negative effects (diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, cancer and more) of industrialisation of food production on humans.”

The Philosophy of Connection

The answer to our questions about their philosophy regarding making cheeses is telling: “Our philosophy centres around ‘connection’, connection to one’s own interests and ability, connection to the earth, connection to the planet, connection to community (residential and farming), connection to the complex adaptive systems of the biological, chemical, economic interactions of all agents.”

Following that thought we are interested how the three women connect, how they work together and divide responsibilities? “Our division of duties follows our major talents and abilities”, says Lisa, “Gypsy is an internationally recognised professional chef, Richelle is an experienced successful business entrepreneur as well as dance performer, director and producer, and instructor and I a nurse by profession, who values ‘labour, the outdoors and ‘being part of’. All three of us value ‘working with’ versus ‘working for’.”

Making traditional farmhouse cheese

How do they see themselves as traditional cheesemakers? “Our practices respect and reflect time honoured human production and cooperation with what is natural to the locale”, says Lisa and “the challenges of a small business are ongoing and require education, intuition, honesty, patience, and rapid response, each and all used appropriately”.

Cheese making seems to be more to them than just creating a product? What is this more we ask: “In centuries past, cheese was called ‘white meat’ for its comprehensive food value for human life”, answers Lisa, “reading about past practices is essential to our production. All of this supports the corner stone of our business: connection. We aim to support ourselves with safe practices for consumers, which coalesces into a “way of life” with purpose, healthy product, and eventually a reasonable profit. Our roots are Irish and with gratitude appreciation our respective lives in Ireland.”

Putting Leitrim back on the cheesemaking map again

And here we have to insert a little personal history about cheesemaking in Leitrim. Certainly there was Rod Alston at Eden Plants in the late 1970’s, who made cheese from the milk of a few goats for himself and his WWOOFers, but there was also a German “Kaesemeister” from Bavaria. In 1988 we had a visitor at Neantog, the late Bruno Reich from Germany, who had moved to Kiltyclogher in North Leitrim to make cheese, not just any cheese mind you, but a camembert type cheese from goats milk. He became a sort of mentor to us, while we developed our own cheesemaking business. He put Leitrim on the Irish cheese making map in the early nineties and should not be forgotten. It took twenty years before another pioneer arrived in Leitrim in the person of Lisa Gifford to start Leitrim Hill Creamery. Lisa is also a Farming For Nature Ambassador.

Their latest development is “Thursdays at the Hill”, a kind of communal gathering around food (cheese and pizza).

Where to buy cheeses from Leitrim Hill Creamery?

You can buy cheeses from Leitrim Hill Creamery at local Farmer’s Markets in Manorhamilton, Sligo and in their Hidden Corner Shop in Carrick on Shannon and from other leading retailers and independent food stores throughout Ireland. They do welcome requests for education and outreach.

Awards for Leitrim Hill Cheeses

In 2023 Lisa to received the Local Food Hero award for Leitrim from the #irishrestaurantawards!

British Cheese Awards 2024: Sliabh an Iarainn took home two silvers in soft cheese and new cheese, Cnoc Liatroma won a bronze in soft cheese and our newest cheese - Aghaslane won a bronze in aged lactic cheese.

Leitrim Hill Creamery, picked up a hat-trick of honours at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards. 'Sliabh An Iarainn' cheese was named the winner (Gold award) of the 'Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk)' category. The cheese, which takes its name from the wild and rugged 'Iron Mountain' in Leitrim, is a soft raw goat's and cow's milk cheese made using their own goat's milk plus raw cow's milk from local farmer Patrick Bradley. It also picked up a Bronze in the 'Raw Milk Cheese' category. Another of their cheeses, Aghaslane, also took home a Bronze - this time in the 'Soft/Semi-Soft Bloomy Rind Cheese' category.

Here we have Leitrim Hill Creamery Uncovered

What is your favourite food? Ice cream
Finish the sentence: A cheesemaker is dedicated, intelligent, objective, attentive, and adaptive.
The country you travel for food: Serbia
Three things you always have in your larder/fridge? Milk, butter and jam.
What is your most used gadget? Pen knife
Do you read food books and which one do you come back to? Historical food books. The Land of Milk and Honey
Who is your inspiration (not necessarily from the food): Ruth Bader Ginsberg
What are you currently listening to? Mahler’s 6th
Something people don’t know about you? Play the cornette
What will be hot in 2024/25? Goat meat