Mature Coolea Irish Farmhouse Cheese

Award-winning Coolea is a Gouda-style cheese produced in Ireland. Coolea Cheese is made from a very old Dutch Gouda recipe, using high quality pasteurized full cream cow’s milk and ripened to a minimum of two months. The presence of wild Irish herbs in the grazing fields gives Coolea a richer, fruitier flavor than Dutch Gouda. Enjoy with fresh bread and a pint of stout beer.

Dick and Helene Willems, a married couple of Dutch descent, began their adventure in cheesemaking when they quit the restaurant business and toured Europe in search of a more peaceful place to live. After brief stints in France and Spain, the family settled down on a farm near the inland town of Coolea in Cork, Ireland. Not wanting to return to the restaurant business, the couple needed to find a new line of work. Given the excellent grazing conditions on their farm, they inevitably turned to cheesemaking in 1979. Owing to their Dutch heritage, they decided to make an Irish version of Gouda. This is a family affair, in 1991 their son Dicky joined the crew and by 1993 became the main cheesemaker.

Coolea won supreme champion at “THE BRITISH CHEESE AWARDS” after also winning best Irish and best modern British at the same venue. Again in 2007 Coolea won the Best Irish and Best Modern British awards at the British Cheese awards. 

• Made from pasteurized cow's milk.
• We cut and wrap this item by hand from a 20 lb wheel.