Beehive Cheese Company Launches Red Butte Hatch Chile Cheese

Brothers-in-law Tim Welsh and Pat Ford left the fast-paced worlds of software and real estate to seek a more artisan way of life as cheese makers. Together they founded Beehive Cheese Company, LLC in 2005. Co-Founder Pat Ford is fond of saying that his brother-in-law, Tim Welsh, called him up and said “let’s quit our jobs and make cheese,” and they did just that. Welsh and Ford traded their grinding commutes and laptops for quiet pre-dawn mornings and the natural rhythms of making cheese the old-fashioned way. Now they start their mornings sitting with 500 gallons of farm-fresh milk, carefully mixing and warming it for hours to develop their unique cheeses. They dreamt of bringing back the reality of the “local creamery” to northern Utah, and with help from the Western Dairy Center at Utah State University, they did just that.

Beehive Cheese Company creamery sits at the mouth of Weber Canyon in a valley between the forested Wasatch Mountains in Northern Utah. It is one of only a handful of artisan cheesemakers in Utah. Ford says their goal at Winter Fancy Foods is to make sure that those who are unfamiliar with the artisan cheese company become aware and excited about the quality and availability of Beehive Cheese. Ford is most proud of their initial impact on the cheese scene, saying, “When we first came on the scene back in 2006 at the American Cheese Society, we quickly received a reputation as ‘those crazy guys from Utah, who don’t know what they can’t do with cheese.’” He added, “A case in point is our rubbing coffee on cheese.” He finished by saying, “We quickly established ourselves as the pioneers in Rubbed Rind cheeses, and many companies have since followed our lead.”

This year, the company is launching Red Butte Hatch Chile Cheese. It is a collaborative fund-raising effort with Harmon’s Grocery and the Red Butte Garden, located at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The proceeds will help fund the multi-faceted Garden organization and the many events and opportunities it provides for students, tourists and the local community.

Chefs from high-end restaurants and businesses in the grocery industry are Beehive’s main customers. The company is proud to state that a bite of Beehive Cheese “melts like butter in your mouth.” Ford and Welsh are adamant that this is because Beehive Cheese is made from the creamiest milk in Utah, which is then lovingly crafted into superior cheese by a family that shares a passion for the artisan way of life.

Ford adds, “Because our cheeses are unique, they make it easy to tell a story. At the same time, because they are award-winning products, grocery and restaurant end users are consistently excited and delighted by our quality and our innovative tastes.”