Laura Chenel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Chenel
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| Born | 1948/1949 (age 75–76) |
Laura Chenel is a famous cheese maker. She was the first person in America to sell goat cheese commercially. She helped make goat cheese popular across the country.
Contents
How Laura Chenel Started Making Cheese
Laura Chenel started her cheese business in 1979. She lived in a town called Sebastopol, California, in the Bay Area. Before starting, she traveled to France to learn how goat cheese was made there.
When she first started, it was hard to sell her cheese. Many Americans were not used to eating goat cheese at that time. But Laura kept trying!
A Big Break for Goat Cheese
In 1980, Laura got a huge opportunity. A famous chef named Alice Waters, who owned a restaurant called Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, placed a regular order for Laura's cheese.
Alice Waters even put "Laura Chenel's Chèvre" on her menu. This was a big deal! It might have been the first time a goat cheese salad was listed on a menu in America. This helped Laura Chenel get a lot of attention and made her cheese very well-known.
Growing the Business
Over time, Laura Chenel's company grew much bigger. It eventually sold more than two million pounds of cheese every year! Most of the cheese they made was fresh chèvre, which is a soft goat cheese. About 10% of their business was making aged cheeses.
In 2006, Laura Chenel sold her company to a French company called the Rians Group. Even after selling the company, Laura kept her own herd of five hundred goats.
More About Cheese
External Links
- Learn more about Laura Chenel
- An article about her cheese
