OUR STORY
At Cornish Gouda, we produce beautifully hand-crafted artisan cheeses on our small family dairy farm in Cornwall.
​
Talvan Farm is nestled in the hills of South East Cornwall, surrounded by green pastures and salty sea air. It has been home to the Spierings’ since 1998, when the Dutch family moved from the Netherlands to start dairy farming.
After years of poor milk prices, the family could no longer afford to continue running the business. When youngest son, Giel, came home from college to a ‘For Sale’ sign on the farm gate in 2012, he decided he would make the business viable by diversifying the farm through the production of Cornish Gouda Cheese.
​
Giel travelled to the Netherlands to learn the family Gouda recipe, returning to Cornwall equipped to perfect his own version of Gouda. Beginning in a small wooden cheese vat, Giel made his first batches of Cornish Gouda.
Giel and the team now process most of the farm’s milk into Cornish Gouda, distributing to farm shops, delis, and restaurants across the UK.
MEET THE TEAM
GIEL SPIERINGS
FOUNDER AND PRODUCER
At the age of 19, Giel founded the Cornish Gouda Company to successfully diversify the family dairy farm. Giel produces Cornish Gouda cheese by hand using traditional techniques learnt in Holland.
JOOST & ANNEMARIE SPIERINGS
THE DAIRY FARMERSS
Joost and Annemarie take pride in the quality and welfare of their pedigree herd. Giel and his parents work closely together to produce the best quality milk to make Cornish Gouda an award-winning cheese.
JAN SPIERINGS
FARM AGRONOMIST
Jan manages the crops on the family farm to feed their pedigree herd, which ultimately provides the milk to make Cornish Gouda unique. Jan is a qualified and experienced agronomist covering the South West of England.
PRODUCTION TEAM
We are a small team, working hard to produce and care for the cheeses throughout maturation. Together we ensure that our high standards are maintained, resulting in
quality and consistency of flavour.
OUR HERD
Talvan farm is home to our pedigree herd of Holstein Friesian Cows. The cows are born and reared on the farm and fed by crops grown on its land.
The cows are milked using a state of the art, automated robotic system which gives them the freedom to choose when to eat, drink, relax and be milked. A happy and stress- free cow produces the best milk.
The fresh milk is pumped from the dairy straight to the cheesemaking facilities on the farm, where it is pasteurised and used to create Cornish Gouda.
SUSTAINABILITY
Cornish Gouda Company strives for zero food miles in its supply chain, and welcome recommendations to become more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Cornish Gouda is produced by solely using milk from the family’s pedigree herd. All cows are born and reared on the farm and fed by crops grown on its land.
Every stage of cheese production is powered by a biomass boiler fuelled by sustainable forestry where on completion each cheese is matured in an eco-friendly storage facility.
We work with select food distributors who share our values.