Sylvan Star Cheese

When the Schalkwijk family, Jan, his wife Janneke, and son Jeroen, wanted to start a farm with more space and more future, they decided to take a look in Canada. In 1995, they found a nice place between Red Deer and Sylvan Lake, they settled and started their dairy farm with a herd of Holsteins and adapted their names to English…John, Jannie and Jerome. When the Schalkwijk’s had a hard time finding a good piece of cheese in Canada, Jan decided to go back to an old skill: making good Gouda. Jan had a long history of Gouda making….being a cheese maker in Holland for 30 years, learning from his mother whom also made Gouda. In 1999, he ordered equipment from Holland and started Sylvan Star Cheese.
Sylvan Star Cheese has won numerous Canadian awards as #1 Gouda and Extra Aged Gouda. The Extra Aged Gouda, also known as ‘Grizzly’ because of its bite and power, is ranked #4 in the world! In fact, Jan seems to follow in his mother’s footsteps, as in 1952, she won first prize in Holland for her Gouda, which she received her prize from Queen Wilhelmina.
Today, their son Jeroen runs the dairy farm with a herd of about 120 Holsteins. Jan and Janneke are devoted to making between 30,000 to 40,000 kilograms of cheese a year!