An Artisan Helps Maintain a Local Industry
By Michelle Madden
Photos by Sabrina Eberhard

“I apologize in advance if I’m huffing and puffing. In summer it’s like the light switch gets turned on. Business is crazy,” reveals Colin McGrath, the owner of McGrath Cheese Company in Hudson. 

McGrath’s business partner, Mel Hunter, is in the background, setting up a table with cheese molds. “She’s more front-of-house. I like to hide in the creamery and make cheese all day. If I didn’t have Mel, this place would shut down,” he confesses.

Dairy farms were once the largest employer and land owner in the region. No longer. “Dairy is treacherous,” McGrath states matter-of-factly. “The commodification of milk has destroyed an industry.” 

He sources his milk locally from Millbrook Beef & Dairy, and goes himself to pick it up. 

He knows the cows well. “They’re no different from you or me. If we don’t eat well, get sleep, have enough sunshine and exercise, we won’t be healthy.” 

Healthy also means allowing the cheese to be what it will be. “Nature is not consistent,” McGrath reminds us. “You’re never going to have cheese taste the same each time. Variables like stage of lactation, genetics, and the season all impact color, texture, and flavor.”

McGrath’s loving touch shows not just in the production, but in the naming. Victoria is named after his mother. Rascal was a favorite goat. Bambino made sense because he was about to have kids. And Hootenanny? “That one’s named after a punk rock festival I used to go to when I was a kid.”

After McGrath left California at 18, his path to cheesemaking was paved with passion and luck. He spent four years at the Culinary Institute of America, then took a part-time job with Sprout Creek Farm (where the goat lived). When the assistant cheesemaker quit, McGrath stepped in. He progressed to lead cheesemaker and, 12 years later in 2016, left to start his own business. 

Luck struck again when he was asked to help Churchtown Dairy (established by Abby Rockefeller) to set up its own creamery. In keeping with Rockefeller’s mission to support local agriculture, McGrath was offered space for his own creamery on the property. The site is breathtaking. It has a spiritual aura, with a vaulted dome that soars to the sky as though opening itself to divine oversight.

Hard work and unwavering dedication have ultimately led to McGrath’s success. Demand is soaring, awards are mounting. The cheeses are sold in more than 150 retail locations in New York and Connecticut, and there is a private label for Millbrook Beef & Dairy. Two of the cheeses (Bambino and Hootenanny) took second and third place in their categories in the World Championship Cheese Contest. “We were the only Americans in the top three of the categories we won,” McGrath says proudly.

What did the judges see in the cheese? “Love!” he cried out, as if––what else would it be! “Every batch is made by me and Mel. There are just two sets of hands that touch every aspect of production. You can taste that.”—mcgrathcheese.com.