Photos by Adam DeTour

Ryan Randell is passionate about cheese. At Fromagerie Madeline, his shop in downtown Leominster, he’s produced award-winning spreads for the past four years. Now, with a cave stacked with rounds of cheddar and other varieties, he’s expanding his creamery business into the market for hard cheese.

Randell got his start in cheesemaking when he and his wife, Bonnie, moved to Leominster 12 years ago. He left a career in graphic design in New York and went to work for Smith’s Country Cheese in Winchendon, where owner Dave Smith was his mentor.

“Dave sent me for training at Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese and has been a supporter for the years since I was the cheesemaker at Smith’s,” he says.

Randell studied cheesemaking at the Académie Opus Caseus in France and at Cornell University in New York. He worked with cheesemakers throughout New England before he and Bonnie decided to make their own cheese. They signed the lease on their shop just weeks before COVID caused most businesses in downtown Leominster to close.

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds,” Randell says. “The pandemic gave us time to set up our creamery.”

Seven months later after extensive renovations they opened the shop, named for their daughter. It quickly developed a following for a variety of cheese spreads made on site using raw milk delivered weekly from Breezy Hill Farm in Greenland, NH.

“We make our spreads in the European style,” Randell explains, “in a three day process that allows the cheese to ferment as it drains.” On the third day he adds herbs and spices, creating varieties such as Everything Bagel, Garlic, Spinach Dip, Dill, Wasabi and Sriracha Hot Pepper, in addition to the original creamy, plain style. Fromagerie Madeline’s cheese spreads have won 20 medals, including the gold, at The Big E, New England’s annual multi-state fair in West Springfield.

The couple’s original plan was for retail sales of their spreads along with cheese from other producers at the store in Leominster. But foot traffic has stalled as businesses have been slow to bring back employees. Partnering with Central Mass Locavore, a local food delivery service, expanded Fromagerie Madeline’s reach. So has Randell’s presence at farmers markets in Westminster, MA, and the Farm Fresh Rhode Island Saturday market. A revamped website, set to launch this spring, will introduce the hard cheeses to cheese lovers nationwide.

Produced and aged at Fromagerie Madeline, they include Tomme, a traditional European cheese. Creamy and mild, it’s aged six months with a natural rind.

“Tomme is a cheese French farmers traditionally make for themselves,” says Randell. Chapman is a clothbound, English-style cheddar, named for John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. He was born in Leominster in 1774, raised apple trees and spread apple seedlings throughout the Midwest. Randell’s Chapman cheese is a worthy accompaniment to apples and other snacks. St. James, an Asiago-style cheese aged eight months, conjures up a taste that is at the same time buttery and earthy.

The hard cheeses are made from raw milk supplied by Clover Luck Dairy in Pepperell. “The Normande and Jersey cows they raise are known for their rich milk,” Randell says. “The quality of the milk really drives the quality of the cheese.”

“I just love making cheese,” he continues, “and I’m so fortunate to partner with folks who are passionate about what they do. We may not make a lot of money, but we’re doing something we believe in.”

fromageriemadeline.com
43 Main Street, Leominster

This story appeared in the Spring 2024 issue.