Cato Corner
Austin Coe Butler
Cato Corner Farm is an artisan farmstead cheese producer in Colchester, Connecticut, run by the mother-son team of Elizabeth (Liz) MacAlister and Mark Gillman. Liz had kept animals on the family farm since the 70s–goats, sheep, chickens, the odd beef cow—but turned to cheesemaking in 1997 as a way to add value and sustainability to the farm as her full time job. Liz’s father was a cheese lover, and as a child she often accompanied him to cheese shops in Providence, Rhode Island. Mark was teaching 7th grade English in Baltimore when Liz turned to cheesemaking, and he quickly returned to the farm where he “put his books in the attic” and studied under his mother. Now Mark tends to the cheesemaking and aging while Elizabeth tends to the cows and pasture with their handful of dedicated staff. They are “cheese farmers,” real farmstead cheesemakers that watch over the whole process from the land to the animals and from the milk to the cheese.
Cato Corner produces an impressive array of cheeses for such a small farm with a heard of only 45 Jersey cows—the Trappist-style Brigid’s Abbey, the Manchego inspired cow’s milk Womanchego, the Alpine Dairyere, and Jeremy River Cheddar, and so on. This roster of cheeses isn’t merely to dazzle, but is practical. Mark makes different cheeses depending on the seasons and qualities of the milk. While the cows are out pasture grazing from May to October and the milk is rich with sweet flavors of alfalfa or clover, Mark might make Cornerstone or Bloomsday. Other cheeses like Brigid’s Abbey are made only during the winter months when the milk is richest in butter fat and protein. You can taste the nuances in flavor throughout the seasons.
We currently offer their Black Ledge Blue, Drunken Hooligan, and Brigid’s Abbey. Black Ledge Blue is a creamy and mild blue cheese that has delicate sweet cream notes often found in a good wheel of Stilton. It has a delicate crumble that melts instantly on the tongue and is a great cheese for blue lovers and skeptics alike. Drunken Hooligan is a take on Cato Corner’s signature Hooligan, a small, stinky, washed-rind cheese with a briny, meaty savoriness and a dense, fudgey texture. Drunken Hooligan is washed in grape must, which gives it the curious appearance of a blueberry muffin and an added level of fruity funk. It’s exceptional smeared on crusty bread or melted. Brigid’s Abbey has clean, bright lactic notes and a nice minerally rind. Its friable paste is delicate and milky. It is the ideal breakfast cheese—a common practice we should adopt from Europe. It’s the oldest recipe Cato Corner uses, dating back to Liz’s first ventures into cheesemaking with a Belgian cheesemaker in the late 90s.
Small artisans making thoughtful food like Liz and Mark are the backbone of our cheese case. We’ve been selling their cheese for years, and undoubtedly we’ve sent you home with a wedge of their cheese. Stop by this weekend and celebrate 25 years of Cato Corner with us!