Robin Schick found her love for cheesemaking accidentally. Her sister got a pet goat, the goat had babies, the mama had milk and, well, the result was Robin discovering that she had a knack for making amazing goat milk cheeses!
She had always loved working with her hands, and she immediately loved the creativity and attention to detail required for her new endeavor. Robin decided to attend the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese to learn more and then opened her own Calyroad Creamery in 2009. Soon she began receiving accolades within the industry, winning several prestigious awards for her cheeses and finding both local and national success.
Old Friends & Old World Cheese
The first cheese Robin made for Calyroad she named Waypoint. It was inspired by an incredible story of friendship between Robin’s mother, Ruth Mclean, and a French woman named Yvette Stanek. The two met as young girls at 9 years old when their respective uncles, who were American and French World War One soldiers together, introduced them through letters and encouraged them to become pen pals.
That was 1934. The girls grew up writing to each other frequently and continued up until 1970 when they finally met for the first time in person. Each had daughters of her own by then, and the families would travel back and forth from France to North Carolina to see each other during the summers.
Robin fondly remembers their French friends bringing over delicious Old World French cheeses with them, and she particularity loved the mild and creamy Camembert. When she began making cheeses herself, this is the first type of cheese she perfected, calling it Waypoint.
Robin’s mother and her friend Yvette maintained contact through letters, phone calls and visits until Ruth passed away at age 82. Robin says she was always amazed by the strength of their decade’s long friendship, formed during such a momentous time in our nation’s history.
Waypoint went on to win 1st place in the Flavor of Georgia Dairy Contest and 11th place in the Wisconsin Worldwide Cheese Contest!
Calyroad Creamery joined the Rock House Farm family in 2019, bringing with it an abundance of award-winning cow and goats milk cheeses. Calyroad’s founder Robin Schick started her Rootville, GA micro-creamery in 2009 after training at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese. Robin’s specialty is fresh and semi-fresh cheeses based on traditional French and Italian recipes.
Farmview Market began selling Calyroad cheeses in 2020 and they were quickly a customer favorite. We knew that we could learn so much from Robin and her vast experience and began the process of partnering with her and Calyroad to make her cheeses on a larger scale at Rock House Creamery. The result has been a strong partnership and another strong friendship, as well some pretty amazing cheeses!
Meet Our Calyroad Cheeses
Waypoint
Mild and creamy, serve this with jam, honey or bake en croute. Waypoint is the first Calyroad cheese Robin created and based on an Old World French-style Camembert that dear French friends of her family would bring each year when they visited. Flavor of Georgia, Dairy Division 1st Place Winner in March 2010; Wisconsin Worldwide Cheese Contest March 2012 11th place winner.
Bit O’Blue
Deliciously creamy, with just enough blue cheese bite to make this Roquefort-style cheese one that keeps you coming back for more. World Championship Cheese Contest 2019 Silver Medal recipient.
Fresh Chevre
Choose from lightly salted plain chèvre or our seasonally flavored chèvre made with locally grown ingredients and spice blends made in-house.
Mediterranean Style Feta
This lemony, bright feta is brined approximately three weeks for a soft texture and lower salt content than traditional feta. Perfect for rounding out salads, tossed with roasted vegetables, or sprinkled on soup.
Marinated Feta
Cubed feta is layered with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, peppercorns, hot pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and extra virgin olive oil. Serve it from the jar as an appetizer, add it to hot pasta, or make your own Greek salad dressing by just adding vinegar.
Big Bloomy
This is our simple but delicious traditional white bloomy rind cheese in a cylindrical shape or French crottin style. What can we say—it’s a big taste in a small cheese!
Little Stone Mountain
A sprinkling of vegetable ash creates a fine gray layer under the white rind of Little Stone Mountain and assists in both controlling acidity and creating a nice mineral finish. This cheese was affectionately named for the Stone Mountain skyline that can be seen in the distance east of Atlanta.
Red Top
A dusting of sweet smoked Spanish paprika gives this bloomy rind a red hue and a smoked flavor that pairs well with cured meats. It was named after North Georgia’s Red Top Mountain where iron was once mined.
Black Rock
This cheese contains a classic coarse-ground pepper embedded in the rind for texture and spice. It’s especially delicious with strawberry jam or Robin’s favorite, sliced tomatoes in place of mozzarella. Black Rock is named for the dark-colored in mica in Georgia’s Black Rock Mountain State Park.
BACK TO BLOG
