Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Hayward Cantelmo.
Anna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I fell in love with cheese working at Savenor’s Market on Charles Street almost 15 years ago. In my pursuit of becoming a cheese maker, I worked and volunteered anywhere I could for local farms, including a goat dairy, a local winery, farmer’s markets, a farm stand and finally, making cheese on a non-profit educational farm. In 2016, I had gathered the experience, courage and support to build my own cheese kitchen.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like most things, it took longer and cost more than originally planned on. I got divorced and was a single mom working 7 days a week. To afford child care and have a schedule where I could spend time with my daughter, I became a Montessori pre-school teacher. It was rewarding work but during that time, my goal of being a cheesemaker never felt so far away as it did then. I remarried and had another child which put my cheese dreams on hold again. Despite having an incredibly supportive husband, figuring out how to attain my goal of having my own business and being present for the needs of my family took years. My husband is a vegetable farmer so we don’t usually solve problems with money. We solve them by working harder and being patient. It took time and sometimes I felt like I’d never get to this point.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Bell & Goose Cheese Co. – what should we know?
Bell & Goose Cheese Co. is named after my kids, Belle and Gus (bet you can guess his nickname). The cheese kitchen is located on Heron Pond Farm where my husband grows vegetables. I buy my milk from a fourth generation dairy farm just ten minutes down the road. Buying in the milk allows me to focus on my real passion, cheese making and leaves the incredibly hard work of dairy farming to the experts. I focus on aged cow milk cheeses but do make some fresh herb rounds, cheese curds and Camembert that you can only find at my farmer’s markets or farm stand.
My signature cheese is Flora Hayward, an Alpine style cheese named for my namesake Flora Hayward Stanford, she was a doctor in Deadwood treating folks like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. I’ve met a lot of strong, intelligent, science loving women in the world of artisan cheese so, I thought she’d feel right at home here.
I also make Quarry Stone Tomme – it’s bright and nutty just like my favorite people. Caerphilly- a welsh cheddar, and Hunca Munca – a baby swiss named after the character in Beatrix Potter’s “A Tale Of Two Bad Mice”.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The dairy farmer’s at Bodwell Family Farm where I buy my milk deserve most of the credit. You cant make cheese without good milk. Dairy farmers are amazing people. They’re generally to hardworking and humble to spend time promoting themselves but they deserve the spotlight. I’m proud to be in NH, it’s my home state, but it’s also a state that is in real need of more cheese makers. We are losing our dairies at an alarming rate, artisan cheese has helped change that in states like Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts. Dairy farms keep huge swaths of land open and green, if you love the agricultural landscape, thank a dairy farmer, drink local milk and eat local cheese.
Contact Info:
- Address: Heron Pond Farm
29o Main Ave.
South Hampton, NH 03827 - Website: bellandgoose.com
- Email: anna@bellandgoose.com
- Instagram: bellandgoose
- Facebook: Bell & Goose Cheese Co.
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