Walk around the town of Dingle and you can’t help but be tempted through the doors of some of the nicest shops in the country. One of my favourites is The Little Cheese Shop, which you’ll find on Grey’s Lane just off Green Street. If cheese is your thing then this place is pure paradise.

The shop stocks both Irish and continental cheese and wheels of Appenzell and Raclette compete for space with Comté, Cáis Dubh and Knockdrinna goats’ cheese. These are squeezed in beside Ardsallagh, Derg and lots of brie – and this is just a tiny sample of what’s stocked in this cheesy heaven.

The woman behind it all is Maja Binder, who hails from the Black Forest region of Germany, but has been living in Ireland since 1997.

“It had always been my dream to have a proper deli and cheese shop, and when the lease came up for here I grabbed it. It was all very easy and I have a great landlord.”

A good website, Facebook page and word of mouth helps spread the word.

Maja opened her shop almost seven years ago and there was plenty she needed to learn. “In summer time the money flows in. We have lots of Irish and continental tourists in the town – and thank goodness they all want to buy cheese. But it’s so much quieter in the winter, so you need to be able to manage your costs and income. Over these months I keep things going by designing and making clothes.”

Skilled cheesemaker

Making cheese is a skill Maja learned and excelled at long before she arrived in Ireland. She had spent seven years honing her skills in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Then in 1997 she came to Castlegregory to visit her mother, who had moved here some years before. “As soon as I arrived I wanted to live here. I just loved the countryside and I wanted to be near my mam.” She saw a gap in the range of artisan cheeses that were available at the time and she set out to fill it.

“I bought my equipment, sourced milk and off I went.” Maja concentrated on making the semi-hard raw milk Dilliskus cheese, which is flavoured with seaweed. Another of her cheeses is Beenoskee, which is a hard Swiss-style cheese and is named after the mountain behind her house. Both are sold under the Dingle Peninsula Cheese brand.

These award-winning cheeses are made in spring and summer from full-fat raw cow’s milk supplied by Colm Murphy, who is well known for his wonderful ice-cream.

The cheeses are stone pressed and stored in a 200-year-old stone storehouse. The natural flora of the old house and the fact that the maturing cheese rind is brushed with whey every day goes to produce their unique flavours.

Initially Maja sold through the farmer’s markets as well as exporting to the US, Germany and Italy. However, the export market wasn’t something she could depend on and now, as well as the shop and markets, she sells to four wholesalers across the country.

Finding love

However, it wasn’t just a cheese business that Maja established when she arrived in Ireland: she also found love. And of course it all started with food. “I met Olivier because I needed seaweed for my cheese and he sold it. My friends said he was in love with me, but I thought it was purely business. But they were right, and after a while we just clicked.”

Maja is now married to Olivier Beaujouan, who runs On the Wild Side, which specialises in a range of patés, salamis and smoked fish, the vast majority of which he makes himself. He is a regular at the Milk Market in Limerick every Saturday as well as the farmer’s markets in Kenmare, Dingle and Castlegregory.

The businesses complement each other perfectly, with Maja’s shop stocking a wide range of Olivier’s deli products making it the ideal place to shop if you are planning some al fresco dining.

Broader palate

When Maja opened her shop, she had a mission to increase the popularity of artisan cheese. “When I opened the shop, any cheese that was out of the ordinary was a bit of a luxury, and most people weren’t prepared to chance buying it. But in seven years that’s all changed and the Irish palate has really broadened.

“Emmental is very popular. So too is Comté, which is a hard two-year-old French cheese that’s sweet and nutty and firm yet creamy at the same time. I find that Irish people also like the mature cheddars, such as Coolattin and Derg.”

As well as all the cheese and Olivier’s patés, salamis and smoked fish, the shop also stocks local produce that fits the mix. “My dream of owning a proper deli and cheese shop has come true – and in one of the nicest parts of the world. What could be better than that?” CL

Tel: 087-625 5788

www.thelittlecheeseshop.ie