Our family has been farming in Ballylisk in Armagh since 1820. Dean is the fifth generation to work the land and the first generation to make cheese.

Everything we do is about staying true.

The first cheese is the flagship Ballylisk Triple Cream called the Triple Rose. It is a circular, white mould, single herd, full-flavoured cheese. Its decadent richness is balanced by salty, lemony notes. It is made from pasteurised cow’s milk with added cream.

The cheese is made in a purpose-built facility just up the road from the farms. The morning’s milk is in the cheese mould by lunchtime. That happens every single day. At the moment, production is small scale but the aim is to utilise the entire pool of milk within three years. The state of the art facility is designed to cope with expansion.

Further cheeses are in development at Loughry College Food Technology Centre, including a blue version of the Triple Cream, a cider–washed cheese and a soft creamy Brie–style. There are also plans for traditional artisan butter.

Ballylisk cheese is part of a food chain which begins and ends in Ballylisk. The grass is eaten by the cows. Their milk makes the cheese. There is much more we are going to do with that milk and its by-products. Watch out for what will we make with the whey!