Cheesemaker
Mary Keehn
- Discipline
- Cheesemaker
Portrait of Mary Keehn
i. Biography
Goat cheese in Northern California gained one of its durable reference points from a household milk decision: in 1970, Mary Keehn acquired her first goats to provide healthier milk for her children. The work moved from goat keeping into cheesemaking, then into a commercial artisan cheese business with the founding of Cypress Grove in 1983.
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The Making
University training at the University of California at Santa Barbara sits in the background of this cheesemaking career, but the practical line runs through goats, milk, and the decision to build a cheese company. In 1983, Mary Keehn established Cypress Grove, giving that work a permanent form in the artisan goat cheese trade.
The Current Work
Artisan goat cheese at Cypress Grove is built around a clear operating idea: quality control and creative range can coexist with a shop culture that does not take itself too heavily. Mary Keehn put it plainly: “We take our cheese and our fun seriously!” That sentence functions less as branding than as a production stance: the cheese matters, and so does the working environment that produces it.
Signature
Signature cheeses include Humboldt Fog.
FAQ
Asked of Mary
Where did Mary Keehn train or study?
Mary Keehn trained at University of California at Santa Barbara.
What recognition has Mary Keehn received?
1st Place American Cheese Society Winner (2015).
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