New Jersey Cheeses at the Farmers’ Market

A newcomer to the Chatham Borough Farmers Market, Valley Shepherd Creamery sells over 25 different kinds of homemade New Jersey cheeses. The creamery uses milk that is free of hormones and antibiotics to make their cheeses at their Long Valley location.

“We make everything there, and [we] have a nice little shop in front. It is very nice,” Matt Dolinsky, Valley Shepherd Creamery employee, said.

Valley Shepherd Creamery started with Eran Wajswol’s, co-owner of the creamery, passion for cheese. “He used to be in real estate and [then] he wound up going to Europe and going around to all the little cheese makers to learn [how to make cheese],” Dolinsky said.

The website adds Wajswol and his wife, Debra Van Sickle, “wanted to make delicious cheeses that follow the old style European methods [of cheese making].”

The creamery makes cheeses from sheep, cow or goat milk, with something for every different taste. “If you like sharp cheese, the cheddar is always popular,” Dolinsky said. If you prefer a more mild cheese, he suggests trying the creamery’s Gouda with nettles.

Depending on the season, the creamery’s Long Valley location offers many events. There are guided tours of the farm, cheese and wine tasting events and even cheese-making classes where each person makes his/her own cheese wheel.

Valley Shepherd Creamery also has stores in SoHo and Brooklyn, N.Y. and sells its cheese at locations across the country including Gary’s Wine & Marketplace in Madison and in Oldwick NJ. The creamery will be at the Chatham Borough Farmers Market every Saturday.

To learn more about the creamery, click here.