As I lamented earlier, it is not easy to find a dinner place in Sant Sadurn d’Anoia, except for some pizzerias and bars offering fast food and tapas. However, you can buy outstanding quality artisan products, if you have a place to eat them (like an AirB&B) or you can enjoy a wine tasting paired with artisan products at SparklingSpain Tasting Room. The town has a small cheese manufacture called Camins de Nord using local milk and making cheeses with the greatest care and attention. At my last shopping I asked the cheese-maker, Mar Rufat about the challenges of her business.
Cover photo: Emma Katalin Dobos
“A zero-kilometre product”
I first tasted Camins de Nord cheeses two years ago at the annual CavaTast, the cava festival of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. Later I was happy to discover that Mar Rufat opened a little workshop and shop just around the corner of my street. It is a “zero-kilometre product” indeed (not even 200 metres), I thought. So, when a group booked a tasting at my Tasting Room with a special request to taste only organic and sustainable products, I used Camins de Nord cheeses among other local food products. It was a huge success!
Mar Rufat is a biologist by degree, but she turned to cheese-making to combine her passion for the nature and traditions, using her knowledge of science. She uses cow and sheep milk from a farm in Alt Penedès, the same county where Sant Sadurní is located. She makes small batches at a time, and she does not spare the time for maturing the cheeses if needed. Customers can choose between more and less matured cheeses in her shop and she is happy to answer to every question.
“We are lagging behind in cheese culture”
Camins de Nord cheese is available at events like the above mentioned CavaTast and I could also taste it at a Slow Food event. The shop & workshop has a central location in Sant Sadurní, yet it is not open every day. If it is, feel free to ring the bell, Mar will quickly let you in. She simply cannot afford to be open all the time, since she has to make the cheese and also source the milk from the farm.
I asked her about the chances to sell her cheese to fine dining restaurant. She explained that her products are too expensive to be the base ingredient for cheesy dishes, while eating cheeses as they are, instead of dessert, is not a custom in Catalonia yet. “Here in Catalonia and also in Spainwe are lagging behind in cheese culture. While regarding wine, restaurants are quite developed, there is a wine list and a good selection of wines, and also the customers are well educated to pair wines to their meals. However, when it comes to cheese, restaurants do not dare to keep a selection of cheeses yet.” Mar is still optimistic and she keeps doing a great job, I will definitely remain her customer as long as she sells these stunning cheeses.
Gotim Blanc – the cheese in our cover photo
In the past months I have bought several products from Mar, all of them are excellent. One of favourite cheeses is Gotim Blanc, a soft, creamy cheese. Since I am far from being a cheese expert, I use the official description from the website:
“Raw cow’s milk cheese made using a lactic coagulation process. It has a white mouldy rind that helps to enhance the complexity of its nuances. White and compact paste, with a smooth and creamy texture until it completely liquefies as it matures.
Elegant and subtle, gaining intensity as it evolves. It presents a great versatility of pairing depending on the point of maturation at which it is consumed. “
Camins de Nord website (in Spanish and Catalan)
