In
1970 Tony Hook began apprenticing at a small cheese factory in Barneveld and
got his cheesemakers license in 1972. Tony and Julie formed Hook’s Cheese
Company and began producing cheese in 1976. At that time we
only
produced Cheddar and some Swiss. In 1980 we expanded into making Colby,
Monterey Jack, some flavored Jacks, and Marble Jack.
In 1982 our entry of Colby won the
“Best of Class” award in the World Cheese Championship. It was then judged
against the winners of all the other classes and it was judged the “Finest
Cheese in the World” out of 482 entries.
There
were entries from fourteen states and sixteen countries. Julie Hook was, and
still is, the only woman to win the World
Championship! We then founded Hook’s
Cheese Company, Inc. to market our cheeses.
By 1987 Hook’s Cheese Company, Inc.
had outgrown our rural Mineral Point cheese factory and we purchased a larger
facility in the city of Mineral Point. This gave us the ability to store and
cure larger quantities of cheese.
At Hook’s Cheese Company, Inc. we age
our cheese in curing caves at
just the
right temperature and humidity for a slow curing process that allows our
cheeses to age to perfection. Every few months each batch is taste tested to
insure that only the cheeses of the highest quality are saved to age. This is
evident in our aged cheddars, such as the Two Year, Three Year, Four Year, Five
Year, Six Year, Seven Year, and
especially in our highly acclaimed Ten
Year Sharp Cheddar, which won an ACS first place in 2006! The only Ten
Year
Cheddar to win this award!
In 1997 we also began producing Blue
Cheese. The cave to cure the blue is kept at a higher temperature and a very
high humidity to allow the blue mold to develop. We invite you to try it and
see if you don’t agree that this is also a cheese connoisseur’s delight! In
2001 we started making Gorgonzola.
In 2004
we developed two new blue-veined cheeses. Tilston
Point is a
drier,
washed-rind blue, and Blue Paradise is a double-cream blue. In 2009
we started making a sheep milk blue called Little
Boy Blue. This cheese has won 1st place at ACS 2011, 2012, and
2014 along with numerous other awards.
In 2012
we started making a goat milk blue called Barneveld
Blue. And in
2013 we
started making a mixed milk blue with cow, sheep, and goat milk
called EWE CALF to be KIDding Blue.
We make
a variety of cow milk cheeses , sheep milk cheeses, and goat
milk
cheeses. One of these we started making in 2014 called Triple Play. This cheese
uses all 3 milks and has flavor notes of Baby Swiss, Gouda, and Havarti.
We were college sweethearts and have
been making cheeses our
customers
love for over 45 years. We make cheese in a facility that was built into the
hills of Mineral Point over 150 years ago during the areas mining era.
Over 90 years of cheesemaking
experience show through since our
cheeses
have won numerous grand champion awards at the county, state,
American
Cheese Society, and world championship levels.
You are welcome to come and visit us
at our plant in historic Mineral Point located at 320 Commerce Street. We also
have a booth at the Dane County Farmer’s Market on the Capitol Square in
Madison, WI.
Our
booth is located on Pinckney Street. We are there every Saturday from the
mid-April until the beginning of
November. The market moves indoors in mid-November through Christmas and is
held at the Monona Terrace. It then
moves to the Madison Senior Center from January through mid-April. Stop by and sample our entire range of
cheeses and see if our cheeses are the best you have ever tasted.
TONY & JULIE
JERRY, JULIE, and BRIAN HOOK
HOOK’S CHEESE COMPANY,
INC.
320
Commerce Street,
Mineral
Point,WI 53565
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