CHEESELAND - Key Persons
The real roots of Cheeseland goes back to my grandfather. He was born in Holland in 1898 in Huizen, a small fishing village on the edge of the Zuider Zee which was famous for its high-quality and abundant smoked fish. In 1926, he wisely began focusing his attention on selling cheese, another of his village's hand-made, traditional industries.
The construction of massive Dutch sea walls, completed in 1932, effectively cut his village off from the North Sea and from sea fishing, but saved the shores from rising tides. He transported his wheels of red-waxed cheese all cross the country by bicycle. As demand for this delicious staple grew, he enlisted the help of his two brothers into the business. They began distributing their products internationally, forming what would become the largest privately owned cheese company in Holland.
Born in my grandfather's home and riding with him as a small boy in his delivery trucks, I learned early on all about cheese. In 1982, I moved to New York, to help import cheese into the USA. Eventually, I started my own cheese importing company and, at age thirty five, began distributing fine Dutch Cheese throughout the East Coast of the United States, sixty years after my grandfather started selling his cheese by bicycle in Holland.