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In 2009, a blue cheese from small artisanal cheese factory Catharinadal in the Belgian village of Achel won the award for “Best Original Cheese” at the Caseus Awards, the most prestigious international cheese competition in the world. Cheese maker Peter Boonen made the cheese for his wife, Riet Thijs. The blue cheese was called the Grevenbroeker, also known internationally as Achelse Blauwe or Achel Blue.
Peter Boonen has been making cheese since he was thirteen years old at the family property which sits at No.5 on Catharinadal street. He opened a cheese factory, and then later, a cheese shop together with his wife Riet. He works closely with his brother Bert Boonen, a dairy farmer who provides Catharinadal with the cow’s milk for its cheeses.
The Grevenbroeker has the familiar blue veins of other blue cheeses but they are less defined and more meandering. When you cut the cheese open, it is white inside, but after a few seconds, exposed to the air, the blue suddenly begins to appear. Because the mould hasn’t been injected into holes, but rather allowed to wander through stacked cheeses, it produces a dusting of patterns, a marble-like design as on the walls of Rome’s Pantheon or on the domes of Agra’s Taj Mahal. The Grevenbroeker would dress up any cheeseboard.
The Grevenbroeker doesn’t have the salty, sharp, tangy, almost spicy taste of other blue cheeses, but rather it is mellow, rich, and creamy. You can taste all the depth and complexity of the blue flavours, as well as its sweet, soft character.
We sat down with Peter Boonen and his son Hendrik Boonen at Catharinadal to discuss how the cheese came to be and what the impact of the Caseus Award was on their business and their lives.
We also talked to Peter Verbruggen, a distributor and exporter for Catharinadal, about his role in the Caseus win, and about simple ways people can learn to pair cheese with beer.
Sit back, listen, and enjoy the story of the Grevenbroeker.
