MONFORTE DAIRYAT MARKET.

Rachel and Daniel in their Saturday costume caper

Shepherds, Farmers, Teachers,

Artists andFriends

WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE OUR

SHEPHERDS AND FARMERS IN

OUR WORLD. IN THE CASE OF

DAVID MARTIN, WE LEARN TO

SLOW RIGHT DOWN AND WRITE

AND RECEIVE LETTERS.

2104 Design and Production by DUO. CA [DUO Strategy and Design Inc.]Photography, unless otherwise noted, www.noracamps.com

I think of the decade of Monforte, the

ten years ended with healing on many

levels: the opportunity to help with cheese-

making education, to feel less financial

pressure, to rest a little with the seasonal

rhythms, to spend more time with family

and friends.

It’s been a decade; it is remarkable how

quickly that time has gone.

How much has been accomplished and

how much there is left to learn.

I am so grateful that you have been there

for support during our learning curve, and

grateful that we aren’t done growing and

learning. There is so much that we want

to accomplish and get better at and do, so

please stick with us, as this has been just

the beginning.

The Decade That Was

Ten years ago, just after Monforte got

started, a quirky, coltish Mennonite girl

showed up, passionate about what cheese is

and what it could do for her community.

I think that Rachael became symbolic of

the growth of the business and all the joys

and foibles of the last ten years.

In the process, she was just like Monforte;

full of triumphs and failures, tenacious and

honourable and totally human.

On January 3, 2014, Rachael married her

love; a Mennonite cheese maker from

Iowa. Together they will carry on the craft

of cheese making, and the love of land

and sustainable agriculture there. But

she has left a legacy of her own abilities

and principles and chutzpah within the

company.

I am so lucky to have known and worked

with her, but now is the time for the

company to look at the next decade and

think of what we want to accomplish in

that time.

I think both Rachael and Monforte have

evolved from colts to mares; both are

steadier and wiser, yet still keen to keep

working. We could not exist without our

community and we thank you for all the

support you have given us so far. But we are

far from finished…

It is time to be more and to be better.

Thank you for dreaming with us.

Ruth

Monforte Dairy

Des is generous with his time

and talents, and is kind beyond

belief.. When I first met Des, I was

the chef for the Stratford Festival

which was a job full of wonders

and privilege.

We worked hard but felt

rewarded and appreciated. One

year, during opening week, we

had worked a pretty long day, and

I needed to come back the next

morning.

The kitchen was a disaster;

after I had left at midnight I

guess the kids decided to go to the

party and blow off the cleanup.

Goodness was I frustrated, and

sometimes when I am tired and

disappointed, the reaction can be

intense. So there I was, storming

around my kitchen, yelling about

kids these days, with no idea that

Des was in the building working

on a late opener. Next thing I

knew there was a package left on

the kitchen counter.

Our wonderful friend, Desmond Heeley, is a brilliant theatre designer and artist who did our original logo.

Our wonderful friend, Desmond Heeley, is a brilliant theatre designer and artist who did our original logo.

It was one of Desmond’s

paintings with a note saying that

I was a thing of absolute beauty

when I was angry, absolutely

beautiful.

Now I am many things but not

a thing of beauty and it was one

of the most wonderful things

anyone has ever said to me, even

if it isn’t the truth.

Most days I think of Des.

He isn’t well right now, and

Monforte wants to send out best

wishes and the remembrance

of laughter, art and the belief

of craft. Our lives are better for

having him as a friend.

When we throw parties we

always think of whether Des

would enjoy them, and boy,

did we have a good time this

Sunday before Christmas. We

recreated the Morris dinner in

an earthier, more Monforte way.

Brandade, cassoulet and salad

and Christmas pudding. Good

friends and music and generosity

of spirit. We just wish Desmond

could have been there.

We hope for each of you a New

Year full of friends and laughter

and good food.

Please be kind to each other,

and thank you all for being

friends of Monforte.

Our lives are all richer because

of you.

Fondly, Ruth

MONFORTE PAYS

TRIBUTE TO A WONDERFUL

FRIEND; DESMOND HEELEY.

MONFORTE PAYS

TRIBUTE TO A WONDERFUL

FRIEND; DESMOND HEELEY.

Desmond Heeley: 1997 Camelot

Camelot, 1997, was Desmond

Heeley’s 34th production for

the Stratford Festival. His first

project at Stratford was the

1957 production of Hamlet,

which marked the opening of

the permanent Festival Theatre

building.

With gratitude to the Archives

of the Stratford Festival for

sharing these images.

We share methods and struggles, wishes and dreams.

An osteria is not fancy. It generally has fewer menu choices in a family style atmosphere. Menus are based on availability of foraged, seasonal, local food. In Italy, people who work nearby might frequent the same osteria daily for a good meal in familiar surroundings. Sometimes Monforte’s osteria will have music or movies or wine tastings and sometimes it will be the home base for farm tours…or it will be where we share how to ferment foods.

osteria

in a meadow of knee-

high grasses behind five girls of various

heights. The smallest was almost eclipsed

by the grass and so the eldest swung her

little sister up onto her hip. Four of the

girls have long braids that lay flat and

contrasting against the fabric of their

dresses, which were coloured from royal

blue to soft grey. These girls skip, dance,

pick grasses and gaze with loving eyes at

their father who stands in the middle of

this field, straw hat firmly planted against

the wind and sun.

The breeze made the grasses move

like large waves, while the sky, blue

interrupted by white clouds, goes on

forever in every direction. We are away

from cities and towns, off a dirt road in

Mennonite country. We step carefully, the

girls in bare feet, to avoid cow plops and

nettles. As we walk, the cows, dairy cows

of black and brown and tan, inch toward

us - not too close - never too close - as we

are not yet friends.

These cows only produce milk when they

have calved and the milk they provide is

rich in cream. This is one source of milk

for Monforte cheese and if you have tasted

Salers, Abondance, Tellegio, Chemey, or

Gaperon than you have experienced the

wealth and beauty of Perry’s farm. These

cows will be called in at the end of the day

and they come, without any prodding or

encouragement, to their stalls where they

will be fed hay and milked.

On this day, moments earlier, three grey

kittens were born to an all white Molly.

One of us has fallen in love with the dog…

hard. Last winter this dog had 9 pups; her

first litter. The girls promise a puppy to

our friend. He is smitten with the bitch

who has rolled unceremoniously onto her

back for a scratching and stroking.

We are given posies of mixed flowers and

we purchase onions and eggs. We say our

farewells and promise to return.

We walked

Monforte cow’s milk comes from Perry’s farm.

So imagine Linwood; a tiny, mostly conservative Mennonite village north of St. Jacob’s. Talk about local, for goodness sake. I mean really, these are people who grow and raise all of their own food and you are there talking to them about why they should buy your expensive sheep’s milk cheese.

And then you meet him, and he says to you in an Iowa accent, “So, you make cheese.” And you think, if I could be a conservative Mennonite, this would be the ideal thing going on. But he is the coolest, most honourable of humans, and you realize that you are in the presence of a farmer so amazing, who doesn’t know he is amazing, because that would be vain and that is unacceptable.

And his eyes twinkle.

And he raises pigs.

So here goes the thinking, because one is always thinking...if he took my whey, we could replicate the European model. Cheese, whey, pork. Full circle.

Not only that, but David also grows wheat which he mills and we make into crackers and granola.

His name is David E. M. Martin and he is our pork farmer and an extraordinary human being, but don’t tell him. That just wouldn’t do.

But in the meantime; if you can, buy his pork or his flour because he is a really good farmer; ethical, honourable and so humbly intelligent.

He is what will save our world.

What started as a desire to make cheese has grown into a mood of responsibility for and to our shepherds and farmers, our

community, to other artists...to the food chain and to those less

fortunate than we are.

We are dreaming of a subscriber-funded Monforte Farm where young

farmers can count on longterm land and where the community can come to learn and partake. Ruth is leaning toward a farm that models

San Patrignano.

[www.sanpatrignano.org]

ThinkMakeGrow

PrepareShareLearn

More excitement ahead.

I first met Chef Neil Baxter at the culinary school – Stratford Chefs School – where he was a teacher and I was a student. I coveted his cooking ability. We married, we shared a kitchen, two kitchens actually, and a wonderful son. Today Neil and I are good friends and food colleagues. Neil runs cooking classes in Rundles’ kitchen and I visit from time to time to break bread and talk cheese. I am still smitten by Neil’s cooking. On this particular Sunday, Neil and his class were preparing an Indian-influenced meal.

As we said goodbye, students were preparing to sit down and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Chef Neil Baxter

Chef Neil Baxter

Monforte sheep’s milk comes from Justin’s farm.

THE CAST AND CREW FROM

Tommy, STRATFORD FESTIVAL,

ATTENDED OUR FIRST ‘SING

FOR YOUR SUPPER’ EVENT AT

MONFORTE ON WELLINGTON.

We love agood party.

Rachael Bauman.

Monforte started its existence in January

of 2004, and one of the wonders of the first

year was a young woman named Rachael

Bauman. She showed up like a kitten with

no fear, more energy then she knew what

to do with and a heart that was so tender

that I often overwhelmed her. We worked

together for 10 years and Rachael gave

Monforte and everyone who was involved

with us joy and passion and a determination

that was formidable.

Rachael has grown into a beautiful woman.

She got married to a wonderful young

Mennonite cheesemaker from Iowa on

January 3rd, 2014.

We all wish Rachael joy and prosperity and

a life full of wonderful cheese and family.

Be well Rachael; we love you.

Monforte Dairy49 Griffith Road,

Stratford, ON(877) 437-5553

Monforte on Jefferson125 Jefferson Ave,

Toronto, ON(647) 700-8598

Monforte on WellingtonOsteria

80 Wellington St.Stratford, ON

www.monfortedairy.com

Wellington Street, Stratford, ON c. 1910 Image: Stratford-Perth Archives

Gerard Brender a Brandis created this wood ingraving of a water buffalo for Monforte Dairy - to celebrate the life of dear friend and mentor Dan DeMatteis