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How the next generation of butter and cheese masters at one family-run dairy are reinventing raclette.
Sliced cayenne chilli, pumpkin seed curry, porcini mushrooms and port wine might not sound like they belong in a traditional raclette but then there’s nothing conventional about the flavour combinations dreamt up by the Swiss cheese masters at Käserei Camenzind. Helmed by two forward-thinking brothers, David and Severin Camenzind since 2022, the business is known for its butter, yoghurt, house-blend of readymade fondue, and specialty cheeses. But it’s the inventiveness of the 20-odd varieties of raclette – and the fact that it is the only production facility in Zurich Oberland making regional blue cheese – which, in recent years, has really set this dairy in the hamlet of Schalchen apart.
On a crisp February morning, Cape’s Stephan Vlček took a trip to the Käserei to meet David, where the pair discussed the business, family and the entrepreneurial spirit of the new generation running the operation. Their discussion was held in their local ‘Tsüri-Dütsch’ dialect and translated afterwards. “Our raclette sells in the German-speaking part of Switzerland because that’s where consumers are more experimental with taste combinations; in the Canton of Valais there is more of a fixed idea that raclette should be just plain cheese,” joked David, who oversees sales while Severin manages production. “Clients tell us that they want to try new things and our range of raclettes have been created to satisfy that curiosity – that’s what makes our job fun.”
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This type of out-of-the-box thinking is needed to make a mark in a very economically competitive market – especially when sales of raclette are determined by temperature. “Of course, raclette is typically eaten when it’s cold. If, for instance, it’s bad weather on Switzerland’s National Day in August (Erste August), we see a sales spike, much like at Christmas and New Year,” David continued. Being innovative also attracts young apprentices who are keen to work in the industry (the company typically takes on one each year). “To be successful, you have to be dynamic and create a brand that shows you are different from everyone else”.
David and Severin’s parents, Franziska and Daniel, together with their uncle, Armin, were the first of the family to discover a passion for churning butter and cheese. Daniel and Armin took over the Schalchen dairy in 1990, using milk from the local co-operative in their production. Initially, Emmentaler was a key part of their output but as consumer tastes changed, their focus shifted onto other types of cheese such as Kyburgheli, Mulibach and Wildberger.
We want to spread the family name but in our own way, with new signature cheeses
Over the years, the business has also expanded: in 2002, Armin began running a second cheese dairy in Fehraltorf, and the primary sales site (a Chäsegge) opened. The company has recently added another shop in Uster, which used to be a Mölkerei. The main facility though is still in Schalchen, where the former pigsty has just been transformed into a new cellar for storage and a high-tech production facility. Here, in the new Hochkühelregallager, all the cheeses are stored on wooden pallets, which are made for almost all Swiss cheese makers at the same factory in Muotathal. In addition, a travelling cheese truck sells at selected weekly local farmers’ markets.
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Being a family business means that David and Severin have the benefit of being able to make decisions quickly and add new flavours as they see fit. “My brother and I are so proud to continue the cheese making legacy of our parents and build on the foundation that they’ve laid. We want to spread the family name but in our own way, with new signature cheeses,” concludes David. What is the brothers’ latest product? Moreish cheese crackers (KäseKracker) that taste exactly like the coveted Grossmueter (the Swiss term for the chewy, crisp crust left at the bottom of the fondue pan), with sesame seeds or hemp nuts. When it comes to cheese, it seems then, as if there is no end to this family’s ambition.
Find out more about Käserei Camenzind here
David and Severin Camenzind
Cape Capital