About Us
Ballinrostig Homestead is owned and run by wife and husband team, Michele Cashman and Stephen Bender.
In 2014 Michele and Stephen renovated and moved into Michele’s family home in the village of Ballinrostig near Whitegate in beautiful East Cork. As part of the revamp, they transformed the old garage into a small purpose-built dairy which was intended for making cheese as a hobby. In 2015 they started to sell commercially and within two years they both had left their careers to meet the growing demand for their delicious cheese.
Stephen was steeped in and learned his trade within the cheese-making culture of the Netherlands and is self-thought thereafter. Michele’s background is very appropriate, being from the corporate world, specifically in organisational effectiveness and psychology. Luckily she also loves food and cheese. Oscar their dog, is a supertaster, if super taster means eating as much as he is allowed.
They run their business based on what is important to them, that is; the environment, permaculture, and local food. They converted their entire cheese range to Organic in 2018, they re-cycle water, use solar energy and rainwater. They use compostable or recyclable packaging where possible.
