Meet Timothy Veldhuizen | Cheese Maker and General Contractor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Timothy Veldhuizen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Timothy, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After 32 years working as a chef and owner in the restaurant business, I was anxious to make a change and slow down a bit. I have a second cousin that started a cheese business in Texas 20 years ago and after visiting him thought cheese making might be for me. I have had several brushes with cheese making over the years; befriending an Italian cheese maker and making cheese in Switzerland with a friend. With cheese making, I’d be able to continue working with food, work with animals, be outside and be a part of the long history of cheese making. So after some long thought, I started to collect animals and really focus on cheese making.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
well, what sets us apart from other cheese makers is our drive to make interesting, unique quality cheeses. Not only do we milk cows, goats and sheep, but we make very unique cheeses from these different milks. We are Colorado’s only sheep dairy, one of only 5 goat dairies and one of only 3 small cow dairies. Milking all 3 animals is unheard of! But the joy is in the cheeses. We make raw milk cheeses which must be aged at least 60 days. So, many of our cheeses are styles that are not common in the US. Most people refer to “goat Cheese” as what we call chevre. But we make a dozen different hard, aged cheeses from goat milk. And the sheep cheeses are fantastic! Also, we make some traditional cow cheeses as well as several that are our own recipes!
We got to where we are today by being stubborn, tenacious, open minded and hard working. Was it easy? No!! Is it easy now? No! But we take pride in the surprise on someones face when they ask; You made this? How did you do it? You milk all your own animals?
I think I would like the world to know that when you take that bite of delicious cheese, how much effort went into it! So many times in our days we overlook the skill, time, dedication and effort that went into making those items. For us it takes a year to breed the animals, keep them healthy, milk them twice a day, every day, magically turn the milk into cheese and then wait for 2 months to know if every step of the process was done correctly! Bon Apetit

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
well, I’d start the day with a cinnamon roll and mocha at Colorado Coffee, downtown Loveland. Next we would tour some of Loveland’s sculpture collections including Benson sculpture park. Then we would head to the mountains! My favorite spot is in the Rawah valley, looking for Moose and other wildlife and just enjoying an overlooked piece of Colorado. Lunch would be a charcuterie board, Cheese of coarse, under a tall pine next to the Laramie River. Then its back to Loveland for Dinner at the Loveland Chophouse.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Of Coarse, the support of my wife and family were and are critical to my success. The single greatest help and inspiration has been my second cousin Stuart Veldhuizen. Stuart started Veldhuizen Cheese in Dublin Texas 20 years ago. He has been instrumental in helping me gather the information and inside knowledge of farming techniques and cheese making and the business of cheese. On many occasions I have asked for insider information which he as always generously shared with me. I hope that one day I may be able to share with him, something that I have learned that can be of benefit to him as well.

Website: https://coloradofarmhousecheese.com

Image Credits
Pictures are all by Tim Veldhuizen