Our Story

For the Love of Cheese

Welcome to Beechmount Farm, home of the Irish blues. It’s over 40 years since founders, Jane and Louis created our first Cashel Blue. Their dream? To show the ‘outstanding quality of Tipperary grass-fed milk’. Jane did that, and more.

Today, our second generation cheesemakers handcraft and mature Cashel Blue along with our Organic and Crozier Blue. It’s still made on the same 200-acre family farm here in County Tipperary. When we taste and grade each batch, it’s ready for you. Enjoy!

Breaking the Mould a biography of Cashel Blue®
Written by Rebecca Lenehan

What we Believe

We know where we stand: Against the artificial, the rushed, and the bland. We are for makers, for nature, for the crafted. We believe in method, patience, and time given, for that magic "when you taste you'll know". Today, our second-generation cheesemakers continue that family tradition, guided by a love for quality and taste.

Family Values

We're independent cheesemakers, a family business. The founders daughter Sarah and her husband Sergio continue the tradition.

We're natural perfectionists and enthusiasts for great taste and quality. When we talk about the Cashel Blue team, we’re talking about cheesemakers and our taste team who share the love of making something wholesome and good.
Black-and-white outdoor portrait. A person in a striped beanie and dark zip-up jacket looks slightly off-camera. Tall reeds or long grass fill the background.
Black-and-white photo taken outdoors among trees. A spaniel-like dog sits centered and in focus, mouth slightly open, while another dog’s face appears out of focus at the left edge, closer to the camera.
Black-and-white photo of a person in a white coat, hairnet, and protective gloves standing at a counter. They hold a long rod-like tool over a container or sink area. Industrial equipment and another person working appear in the background.

A Modern Classic

Since our beginnings, we’ve had a love of making real, wholesome food from simple ingredients. It all started here in Tipperary with a clear mission: to make something individual, enlivening, and flavourful. This is how Cashel Blue, Ireland's Queen of the Blues, became a modern classic.
A simple white line drawing of a face with closed eyes and a gold crown tilted on the head
A black-and-white landscape photograph of the Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers production facility at Beechmount Farm, with the company name "CASHEL" visible on the exterior and the shadows of trees cast across the building's facade.
Black-and-white outdoor portrait of two people at a farm gate. Behind them are grassy fields and a tree line, suggesting countryside farmland.
A black-and-white photograph of three male cheesemakers at Cashel Farmhouse, dressed in white laboratory coats and boots, holding traditional cheesemaking tools like a curd shovel and a wire cutter.

1800's

A historical black-and-white photograph of Main Street in Cashel, County Tipperary, during the late 19th or early 20th century, showing horse-drawn carriages, people in period clothing, and rows of storefronts.

1800: Quakers & Food

The Grubbs of Tipperary sustain a thriving grain-milling industry for over 100 years. A strong Quaker family in the south-east of Ireland, they have mills in Clonmel, Cahir, Carrick-On-Suir and many other parts of Tipperary and Waterford. A testimony to their historic presence in Clonmel is ‘Grubb Lane’ by the Westgate in Clonmel.
A serene landscape photograph of a herd of black-and-white cows grazing in a lush green pasture in front of a historic two-story brick farmhouse at Beechmount, Tipperary.

1979: A fresh start

After years of living and working around Ireland, Louis Grubb moves back to his family home, Beechmount Farm, with his wife Jane. They invest everything they have in buying a dairy herd of 90 cattle, and begin to produce milk and butter to sell.
A vintage 1980s photograph of a rustic farm dairy workshop with a large copper or dark metal vat in the foreground, wooden workbenches, and various early cheesemaking tools.

1980: Experimenting

After attending a cheesemaking course, Jane begins making different types of cheese, and starts to sell them at the local country market along with other dairy produce. It will take 4 years of perimentation and a string of happy accidents until Cashel Blue is ready.
A vintage black-and-white photograph of founder Jane Grubb (center) at a market stall in the 1980s, displaying early wheels of "Cashel Irish Blue Farmhouse Cheese" and fresh cream.

1984: A Cheese is Born

After much hard work, and finally satisfied that the product is fit for market, Cashel Blue is born. As well as being one of the first Irish Farmhouse Cheeses, it is the first ever Irish farmhouse blue cheese - causing as much bewilderment as excitement in Ireland.
A herd of white Friesland dairy sheep walking down a dirt path on a lush green farm in Tipperary.

1993: Another Bold Venture

We start milking sheep at our farm for a new cheese, Crozier Blue, which for a long time will remain Ireland’s only sheep’s milk blue. Crozier will go on to win numerous awards, and demand for it grows gradually as a foodie-favourite for the next 30+ years.

2004: Taking the Reins

Sarah (Louis and Jane’s daughter) and Sergio Furno, recently married and having worked extensively in the wine trade, move back to the family farm, to manage the business. They introduce cheese maturation to the company. To this day they take the role of head Cheese-Maturers at the Dairy.
A group photograph outside the Cashel Blue production facility, featuring founders Louis and Jane Grubb, their daughter Sarah Furno and her husband Sergio, their children, and Simon Coveney during an official visit.

2011: A Giant Leap

Our new purpose-built dairy is officially opened. A multi-million Euro investment, this is the culmination of 30 years hard work! It is a bold investment for the next generations in our family-owned business and increases our production capacity.
A wide-angle photograph of the 2011 State Banquet at Dublin Castle, showing Queen Elizabeth II standing to give a speech at a long, ornate dining table decorated with elaborate floral arrangements and candelabras.

2012: Royal Blue

Queen Elizabeth II makes a historic visit to Ireland, and Cashel Blue is served up at the State Banquet at Dublin Castle. It is rumoured that on her subsequent Irish visit, while at a cheese market in Cork, she requests Cashel Blue from the stallholders.
Sarah Furno and an associate proudly holding a certificate and silver medal for Cashel Blue at the International Cheese & Dairy Awards.

2014: The French Paradox

After years of growing in the British and Irish market, Cashel Blue is finally recognised and welcomed into the age-old French cheese world. We begin to win awards and increase sales in France, gaining the respect of cheesemongers and foodies alike.
A whole wheel of "Shepherd’s Store" cheese, a hard farmhouse sheep's milk cheese, wrapped in branded paper featuring a sheep illustration, sitting on a wooden surface.

2015: Shepherd’s Store

We launch our new Dutch-style hard cheese to the market. Shepherd’s Store was developed and perfected by our head cheesemaker, Guert Van Den Dikkenburg, who is sadly no longer with us. Our team continues to produce it to this day carefully to his recipe.
Sarah Furno wearing an official medalist ribbon, proudly displaying a gold medal at a major international cheese exhibition with a wheel of Cashel Blue in the foreground.

2018: Maître Fromager

Sarah Furno is honoured with one of the most prestigious accolades that a cheesemaker can receive - being titled a Maître Fromager from the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers in France. This milestone recognizes exceptional skill, perseverance, and passion for the art and tradition of cheesemaking.

2022: Origin Green Gold

We are honoured with the Origin Green Gold Award, for our commitment to sustainability within Ireland’s national food and drink programme. This recognition highlights our dedication to environmentally responsible production and ongoing effort to reducing our carbon footprint and imapct on our local environment.
A celebratory food photograph of a wedge of Cashel Blue featuring a special "40 Years" gold label, served on a wooden board with an apple slice, a jar of chutney, and the 2024 British Cheese Awards Reserve Champion seal.

2024: Celebrating 40 years

We mark our 40th anniversary, celebrating four decades of craftsmanship and dedication to Irish cheesemaking. This milestone honours the hard work of everyone who has helped to establish Cashel Blue as “Queen of the Blues” in Ireland and abroad. In the same year we win Reserve Champion at the British Cheese Awards, and the Great Taste Golden Fork Award - each one an incredible honour, and the icing on the cake for our 40th year.

2025: Lifetime Achievement Award & Artisan Producer of the Year

An incredible honour and recognition, Jane and Louis Grubb are awarded a Lifetime Achievement award from the Irish Food Writers Guild. The IFWG said the award was for “carefully blending tradition and technology with the best of local milk - this family-run business has managed to become bigger and better without losing the focus on quality and authenticity”. In the same year we are blessed with Artisan Producer of the Year award, from Blas na hEireann, the Irish Food Awards

2026: Creation of Toma No.5

The baby and 5th addition to the family of Cashel Farmhouse cheeses. Yes she’s mouldy, but she’s not blue!

Today

How we make our Cheese

It takes time, skill and method.

01.

Happy Cows, Great Milk

We take great pride in our milk. Over 40% coming from our own farm. When grazing the patchwork of pastures surrounding the cheese-rooms, the girls can be seen from the cheese-room windows- this is our definition of “local milk.

02.

Stirring the Magic

We precisely pasteurise the fresh whole milk, taking great care not to compromise those delicate sweet flavour elements. Next, we gently stir in a starter culture, Penicillium Roquefortii (the blue mould), and vegetarian rennet. Then, our cheesemakers gently draw the cheese harp through the curd to separate the solid curds from the liquid whey.

03.

Watch, Wait, Feel

We don't rely on precise science here—it's handcraft. We wait, watch, and feel the curds, turning them regularly until they're firm enough to transfer into moulds. During moulding, we encourage the remaining whey to drain out through a careful process of turning.

04.

Piercing the Way

On day three, we remove the cheeses and salt them. Salt is essential—it acts as a natural preservative and brings that light salt edge to the flavour. On day four, we individually pierce each wheel to allow air to penetrate the centre, giving the blue mould spores the perfect conditions to develop.

05.

Blueing Time

The cheeses are transferred for what we call "cave ageing". Held at around 10°C, our team turns the cheeses every day so the moisture doesn't all run to one side of it!

06.

The Taste Test

Once the blueing starts, we wrap the cheeses in foil. Our taste team then tastes and grades each batch to determine how long we'll age the cheese—usually 2–3 months. We taste again before any order leaves the farm.

07.

Wrapped and Ready

When they are finally ready, we cut and wrap the cheeses by hand right here on our farm! So, yes, every sumptuous piece of Cashel Blue has been prepared carefully by hand. We hope you enjoy it!
A simple white line drawing of a face with closed eyes and a gold crown tilted on the head

Sustainable Craft & Community

We love the area where we live for its green fields and rich hedgerows, clean streams and fresh Atlantic air. It is natural therefore that we should want to preserve and continue to enjoy this environment. Making cheese in the least impactful way comes naturally to us and remains a key focus as we work to continually reduce our footprint. Solar panels on the cheese dairy roof supply 65% of daytime electricity through summer months, hydrogenated vegetable oils fuel our heating boilers and the company van. Packaging is chosen carefully to be minimal, recycled and recyclable. Water use is continuously monitored and managed.

Origin Green ®, a nationally certified environmental achievement scheme, has been involved with Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers since first establishment in 2012. Through this scheme we have set targets and been audited on our outturn results. We are delighted to be recognised as one of only 4 companies within the Ireland that have received the Gold Member Status excellence rating for 4 consecutive years.
© 2026 Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers (J&L Grubb Ltd).
Created by TrueOutput:

Cashel Blue

Can be enjoyed by those sensitive to Lactose - Did you know the lactose, i.e the natural sugars in the milk, are fermented out over time.

Ingredients: Pasteurised cow’s MILK, salt, rennet, starter cultures and Penicillum Roquefortii.

Allergy Advice: Contains milk

Cashel Blue®
Country of Origin: Ireland
Established: 1984
Milk Type:  Whole Cow’s Milk
Pasteurised: Yes
Rennet: Vegetarian
Style: Semi-Soft, Blue
 
Nutritional Information:
Typical values per 100g:
Energy - 1444kJ / 348kcal
Fat – Total Fat: 28.8g
Saturated Fat: 18.4g
Monounsaturated Fat:7.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat:0.8g
Trans Fats: 1.0g
Carbohydrate (by difference): 0.9g
Sugars: 0.2g
Protein: 20.4g
Salt: 2.0g