Nynke Van Schaik.
Award-winning artisan cheese from the fjords Norway’s profile as a foodie destination has been on the up for the last few years, and the owners of Myrdal Gård may have struck more than gold medals when embarking on a cheese-making odyssey built around nature, sustainability and the magic that occurs around the fjords.
ing would convince them to come back down – until the rain fell, and then they all walked home. That moment, we knew we had created something truly special.”
By Jo Iivonen | Photos: Myrdal Gård
Soil to table
A desire to live closer to nature led Jasper and Nynke Van Schaik, a Dutch cheese-making couple, to Norway in 2013. “We had travelled around the area on holidays, and when we discovered that the previous owner was looking to sell the farm, it didn’t take us long to make a decision,” Nynke says. “We moved over within three months.” Since April 2013, the new owners have developed the product range with great 68 | Issue 133 | February 2020
success, culminating in gold medals from the World Cheese Awards. “We love to experiment, try new methods and ingredients. But the most important thing is the nature, and that our animals are happy,” she says. And a happy herd it is. The some-120 goats roam freely on the 150 hectares of land that comprises forests, pastures and mountains. “Once, they had spent two weeks up on the mountains and noth-
The island of Tysnes sits just a short ferry ride away from Bergen. Yet the overriding ambiance is that of a fairy-tale land: the air is fresh, and nothing but greenery