🧀 Meet Stephanie of Garda Artisan Cheese! 🌿🐄

Garda Artisan Cheese is a female-owned farmstead cheesery nestled on Ouland Farm near Vleesbaai in the Garden Route.

For the past five years, Stephanie, also a lawyer, has been crafting delicious cheeses using milk from her partner's family dairy, where they raise their own Italian Holstein cows in a pasture raised - grass-fed, and 100% free-range environment.

What makes Stephanie's cheese so special? It's all about having full control over the quality of the soil that directly impacts their quality of milk and the fact that Stephanie spent a few months in Campagna, Italy, perfecting her recipes for authentic Italian pasta filata cheese, including fior di latte mozzarella, bocconcini, burrata! Her cheese range has grown to include traditional soft farm-style feta, delightful halloumi (available plain or with seasonal organic garden dried herbs - currently featuring dried sage which is beautiful), as well as a double thick probiotic yogurt and labneh. Exciting news: they're working on their first aged cheese range, set to debut later this year.

Stephanie's cheeses are all about freshness. Pasta filata cheeses should be enjoyed as fresh as possible, ideally within the first 3-4 days from receiving it, as no preservatives are used. The feta and halloumi have a longer "shelf life" due to brining and vacuum packing.

Farming In addition to crafting exquisite cheeses, Stephanie and her partner are implementing some regenerative farming practices. Their cows graze on a diet of 90% grass (Lucerne, alfalfa, and clover) and receive supplements when pregnant. The farm spans 4000 hectares, and animals rotate bi-weekly based on rainfall and available food in their 100 hectare camps. Ploughing happens only once every 10 years!

When using raw milk, Stephanie employs micronized filters to ensure cleanliness. Cows are naturally impregnated by the bull, and calves stay with their mothers for 7-10 days. The bull calves are also kept on the farm & raised by hand whereafter they are sold around 20 months old.

Remember, Stephanie's fresh cheeses are best enjoyed quickly, but they can be frozen for later use. For pizza lovers, there's now grated pizza mozzarella available, perfectly tweaked for a satisfying, cheesy experience.

Stephanie welcomes feedback and is eager to perfect her creations.