Driving in the Ashland/Washburn area, plan two stops for a true taste of Wisconsin with regional cheese at Benoit Cheese Haus and couldn’t-be-fresher ice cream and milk at Tetzner’s Dairy and its self-serve store.
JILL JONES
At Benoit Cheese Haus, employee Christine Hecimovich slices a chunk of Marieke Gouda brand foenegreek gouda, a rich, nutty cheese made in Thorp, Wisconsin.
Smiles & Samples at Benoit Cheese
BOB BERG
One of the pleasures of stopping at Benoit Cheese Haus, 12 miles west of Ashland, is getting to sample cheeses you’ve never had – and may have never heard of – before. Another pleasure: the big smiles that greet you when you walk in the door.
More than 150 different cheeses are sold at the modest-sized specialty store whose tongue-in-cheek motto is “We cut the cheese.”
There’s no joking about the quality of the cheese. “We support 30 to 35 Wisconsin cheese makers, and we carry the cream of their crop,” says owner Jill Jones. “A lot of them have wheels or loaves of cheese, and we cut those in the back so you can sample and get it cut to size.”
On my visit in August, I came away with two new favorites that I suspect are as new to you as they were to me. Marieke Gouda brand’s foenegreek gouda comes from Penterman Farm in Thorp, Wisconsin, where cheese maker Marieke Penterman, originally from the Netherlands, has won multiple prestigious awards. Foenegreek is a seed, and the cheese has a nutty flavor with hints of maple. This outstanding cheese, best savored with a good wine, sells for $14.50 a pound.
Another of my choices is the Sartori brand Citrus Ginger BellaVitano ($13.95 a pound). To Jill, it’s a cross between parmesan and asiago, “with a touch of fine cheddar and a creamy, almost buttery finish with the wonderful ginger and citrus.” I second that.
Even those who crave spicy cheese can find happiness here, with a range in “heat” from the mild and popular buffalo to chipotle havarti, jalapeno cheddar, pepper jack, habanero jack or, the hottest, ghost pepper.
The store has been around since 1973, and for many years served as a sort of a co-op for dairy farmers. Jill bought the business two years ago after working there for nine years. “With the knowledge I had of Wisconsin cheese, and especially with the tourism in Ashland, I thought it would be great to have that little cheese shop.”
She grew up “cheesy.” Her grandfather was a cheese maker when Jill was growing up in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Benoit Cheese is stacked with shelf after shelf of packaged cheeses in refrigerated cases. It also sells a few other groceries and locally made products such as honey, jams, soaps, wine and souvenirs. All of that helps serve the local folk as well as the visitors.
“We’re a small little town way out in the country,” Jill says. “There was a gas station and it closed, so we try to carry some of the products so that people don’t have to drive all the way into Ashland to buy their milk.”
The shop’s styles and prices range from $4.35 a pound for a mild Wisconsin Colby to almost $80 a pound for a 19-year-old cheddar. The age, quality of the cheese and the cheese maker can affect the price, Jill says.
The store offers made-to-order gift boxes and can ship throughout the United States. The guest book shows cheese fans have visited from as far as Colorado, South Carolina and Europe.
BOB BERG
Lifelong customer Tim Bowles, left, joins Phil Tetzner and daughter Jackie Tetzner in the small Tetzner’s Dairy store.
Old-Fashioned Taste at Tetzner’s Dairy
BOB BERG
A sign at Benoit Cheese Haus in Benoit gives cheese lovers a bucket list number.
Outside Washburn, turning off Highway 13 west onto Nevers Road, you’ll pass plenty of farms with “Tetzner”(all related) on the mailbox before you see the sign for Tetzner’s Dairy.
If no one’s around when you arrive, that’s no reason not to buy. Take fresh milk, cheese or your favorite ice cream from the refrigerator case, write down what you bought on a slip of paper and leave it and your money in an envelope. Amazing … and I’m talking about the flavor.
If you’re lucky, though, Phil Tetzner will be around to greet you. I made an appointment, and Phil, the farm’s 87-year-old patriarch, was waiting on the swing behind the brick house where he was born. Chatting with him is as memorable as the dairy’s $1.50 handmade ice cream sandwiches, whose ingredient list starts with cream and whole milk from cows within shouting distance.
Phil is the third of the five generations who have operated this farm. His parents took over in 1914, after his grandfather ran it for 20 years. “My mother used to bottle milk by hand. I can remember when I was little, probably about 5, I’d put the caps on. I really couldn’t do it very good.”
As a youngster, he learned to milk his parents’ six cows by hand. Today, the farm has 60 cows and is in its fifth year of using a robotic milking machine, a lot easier process, admits Phil, adding whimsically, “that robot has never been late (for work).”
Phil took over the family farm when he was 18, after his father passed away. He and his late wife, Beverly, raised six kids. These days, two sons and two grandsons work the 600-acre farm with Phil. “This is just a small farm and a small store,” says Phil, pointing out with pride that the bagged milk is “not even a day old.”
Tetzner’s is not a secret. The “small farm” has more than 2,500 Facebook friends who share effusive praise like “best ice cream on the planet” and “As a small dairy farmer myself … I love seeing cows that are taken care of!”
All this doesn’t surprise Phil. “We make good ice cream. People like that.”
Some customers cherish their memories of Tetzner’s even if they leave the area. During my visit on a hot August afternoon, Tim Bowles of Preston, Connecticut, stopped by for cherry nut ice cream. He recalls Tetzner’s from when he stayed all summer with his grandparents at his great-grandfather’s Washburn cottage on Lake Superior.
“My grandparents would take me to Tetzner’s for ice cream, as well as pick up some milk. It was one of those idyllic boyhood delights.” Tim’s grandmother and father were born in Washburn. “I have been coming up here since I was 1 year old back in 1951 from Caracas, Venezuela, where my father worked.”
As to his favorite cherry nut ice cream, Tim declares it “as good as it gets” (unless, of course, you favor the French chocolate mint, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or peppermint).
The store’s honor system reflects the Tetzners’ relationship with their customers. “People who come here, I think they know we trust them,” Phil says. “I wouldn’t say that we haven’t ever had anybody who took something, but it’s very seldom. … Some buy $5 worth of something and leave a $20 bill and then leave a note besides about how well they liked it!”
I’d count that as another 5-star review.
Bayfield Farm Tours
Fall is a great time to explore Bayfield’s Fruit Loop of orchards and farms to sample Muriel’s famous apple cider doughnuts at Erickson Orchards & Country Store or to look over the 1928 Sears Roebuck mail-order barn at Hauser’s Superior View Farm (just to name two). Find a map and a list of orchards through the Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau at bayfield.org.
Bayfield Apple Fest
Local farms and local food are the stars of Bayfield Apple Festival, Oct. 5-7. One of Wisconsin’s top festivals, it’s staged by a community proud of its agricultural heritage. What draws throngs of folks to scenic Bayfield? Treats for one thing – food booths offer the tempting aroma of apple pies, caramel apples, cider, and apple brats. There are about 100 arts and crafts booths to browse, a kids’ carnival with games and rides, music from Big Top Chautauqua’s Blue Canvas Orchestra, and fun people to meet, like Apple Fest Grand Marshals Shirley Hanson and Shirley Bodin, who are longtime friends and community members. For some, the highlight may be Sunday’s Grand Parade down Rittenhouse Avenue, featuring inventive floats and the 400-musician “mass band” playing the song “On Wisconsin.” In 55 years, Apple Fest is a celebration that never gets old. Find details at bayfield.org.
Benoit Cheese Haus is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, County Highway F, downtown Benoit, about 7 miles south and east of Ino, or about 12 miles west of Ashland. There may
be detours. Call for easy directions, 715-746-2561. www.benoitcheese.com
Tetzner’s Dairy is open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. It’s on Nevers Road, off Highway 13 just outside of Washburn. www.tetznerdairy.com