When Eamonn and Patricia Lonergan began making cheese in a small shed on their west Waterford farm in 1987, they could hardly have imagined where the venture would take them.
Almost 40 years later, Knockanore Farmhouse Cheese produces between 50 to 60 tonnes of cheese annually, with its distinctive oak-smoked and vintage white cheddar now available as part of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range.
Made using raw milk from the family’s own dairy herd, the cheddar captures something of the Blackwater Valley landscape, according to Eamonn.
“The thing about raw milk cheese versus pasteurised cheese is you’re really getting the area in your product,” he explains. “You’re tasting the natural flavours from where the cows have grazed – the herbs, the grasses – and that comes through in the milk.”
The picturesque village of Knockanore has attracted some high-profile attention recently, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg purchasing nearby Strancally Castle. But Eamonn and Patricia have been putting this corner of west Waterford on the food map for almost four decades.
Their story began with a television programme that Eamonn watched in his parents’ home. It featured Norman and Veronica Steele, who had left their academic careers in Dublin to establish Milleens Cheese in west Cork.
“I looked at that programme and I said to myself, we have the milk here, we have better land, and if they can do that in west Cork, we should be able to try it.”
Having returned to farming in 1978 after working in accountancy and management, Eamonn was keen to explore the possibilities. With encouragement from family members working in food science, he sought advice from experts at University College Cork and Moorepark.
After experimenting with different varieties, he settled on cheddar, attracted by its shelf life and suitability for maturing.
“Patricia was teaching, but obviously I couldn’t have done it without her support,” he says.
Their five children also played their part, helping to fill cheese moulds after school.
“Our five kids all worked in the business, helping to make the cheese in the evenings when they came home from school.”
What began with around one tonne of cheese annually has grown considerably, while the original shed has long since given way to purpose-built premises.
Yet traditional raw milk cheddar remains central to Knockanore’s identity. Working with unpasteurised milk requires expertise and rigorous production standards, something the business has developed over decades.
The smoked cheddar selected for the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range undergoes an additional process, using real oak wood to create its distinctive flavour.
“It’s naturally smoked,” Eamonn explains. “We smoke it with wood, proper oak wood. There’s nothing added. We smoke it properly.”
Today, Knockanore is a much broader operation, cutting, packing, blending and smoking cheeses for other producers, including products in the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range.
There is no shortage of experimentation either, with flavour combinations ranging from whiskey-infused cheeses to hot honey. Eamonn believes being open to new ideas and collaborating with other producers has helped the business adapt.
His son Edward, now deeply involved in the operation, has brought fresh ideas and along with his sister Aisling they have developed a separate fresh mozzarella venture.
The project took more than two years to bring to market, reinforcing one of the most important lessons that Edward says he has learned from his father.
“Persistence is probably the main thing,” he says. “Eamonn started this back in 1987, so it’s nearly 40 years. You have to be dedicated, consistent and persistent. You can only grow a business like he’s grown it over that period of time, and establish a brand, by being all of those things.”
Edward hopes to expand exports and introduce Knockanore to new customers.
“We’ve done a lot, but there’s a lot more we can do,” he says.
However, he is equally determined to preserve the family’s traditional cheesemaking methods.
“It’s trying to get the balance right,” he explains, referring to diversification without compromising Knockanore’s raw milk mature cheddar, made on site using milk from its own cows.
With Christmas approaching, Eamonn believes the Simply Better smoked cheddar is a versatile addition to the festive table.
It works well with a glass of red wine on a cheeseboard, but is equally at home melted into a toastie or added to a baked potato.
“It’s a very versatile product,” he says. “You have so many options.”
Almost four decades after that television programme first sparked an idea, Knockanore remains a family business built on tradition, persistence and a determination to make good cheese.
Dunnes Stores Simply Better Knockanore Oak Smoked Cheddar is available at Dunnes Stores, priced at €4.49 for 150g.
