Ever since I left my native home, I have been thinking about all the things I miss most about Venezuela: my family, my friends, the beaches, the mountains, and the food.

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It isn’t too hard around me to find enough variety of ingredients to recreate the recipes of my childhood but one thing I was never able to experience outside of Venezuela itself is its cheeses.

 

I visited many Latin stores across the United States and Canada but could never find anything that resembles the flavors of the artisanal cheeses I remember seeing throughout all the places I lived.

 

A little while ago, after the passing of my mom and my aunt (who also loved cheeses!) I decided to invest my energy into building my own “Queserita” (literally: little house of cheese) in their honor & memory. 

 

I decided to name it “TurpialBase” after our Venezuelan national bird (the Troupial) and the location I make all the cheeses in (my basement).

 

All my cheeses are from different states of Venezuela and are made the traditional way from recipes I obtained from local Venezuelan cheesemakers. I will always be very thankful for their help and guidance towards recovering my memories of cheeses and making them available to whoever wants to experience the extraordinary variety of Latin American Artisan Cheeses.