Casa del Formaggio
One of the youngest in the batch is Casa del Formaggio, started by Francesco and Isabelle Patron in Negros Occidental. The brand aimed to be the first to locally produce quality Italian style cheeses in Negros and the rest of the Philippines. To do this, the Patrons studied cheesemaking in Italy and applied the same processes in their local production. Casa del Formaggio’s cheeses are all natural, as they source milk from their own dairy farm. Their range of products include burrata, stracchino, caciocavallo, assiago, caciotta, peperoncino, and robiola.
DVF Dairy Farm
DVF Dairy Farm was started with just 10 carabaos in a land less than a hectare by Danilo V. Fausto in Talavera, Nueva Ecija in 1988. Fausto’s goal was to establish carabaos as a potential source of livelihood beyond their use in farming. He started with a mere P5,000 capital and milked his carabaos on his own. He eventually learned how to make kesong puti, streamlined production, and then diversified to make other cheeses, including buffalo mozzarella, queso blanco, and gourmet cheese.
Hacienda Macalauan
In 1995, Eduardo J. Soriano founded Hacienda Macalauan, Inc. as a dairy farm and manufacturer of milk products. Located in Calauan, Laguna, the farm started with a few Magnolia dairy cows, then eventually expanded with the acquisition of 100 Freshian Sahiwals from Australia. This allowed the company to produce liquid milk and cheese products, including kesong puti, shredded mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese, and cream cheese. Hacienda Macalauan is considered one of the most high-tech as it boasts of an automated milking parlor and an advanced dairy processing plant.
Malagos Farmhouse
Based in the southern province of Davao, Malagos Farmhouse produces signature cheeses that have gained a global following, ranging from fresh goat cheese and Davao blue cheese to ricotta and peppato. It all started at the family-owned dairy farm, where Olive Puentespina would take fresh milk and transform it into fresh cheese for her family. The passion led her to study cheesemaking and to set up her own cheese room. She eventually formed her own cheese- making protocols to suit the country’s conditions.
Mama Jessie’s
It was Mama Jessie’s grandmother from Nueva Ecija who taught her how to make kesong puti using fresh carabao’s milk. The recipe was passed on to Mama Jessies’s daughter, Marivic Gatan, who loved to make the cheese for family and friends. She turned it into a business in 2000 and started selling at bazaars and deli stores. To this day, Mama Jessie’s uses carabao milk sourced from farmers in Nueva Ecija.
Rizal Dairy Farms
Swiss-born Jacqueline Haessig-Alleje and her husband Tony established Rizal Dairy Farms in Teresa, Rizal in 1992. Their aim was simply to produce good-quality milk for their children’s consumption. A surplus of milk opened up an opportunity to expand their reach and diversify their product line, which now includes yogurts and cheeses like carabao cheese, cheese curd, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and ricotta. Rizal Dairy Farms eventually supplied hotels and restaurants in Metro Manila, Boracay, Cebu, and Davao.
