Woolwich Dairy
Orangeville, ON
Woolwich Dairy, Canada's leading and largest goat cheese producer, has been manufacturing award-winning goat cheese since 1983.
This is a story of a family owned and operated business which started back in Europe when Tony Dutra's mother, Adozinda, supplied goat cheese to her village in Portugal.
The family later moved into Ontario, Canada, where his mother purchased a goat farm in Grand Valley. Raising goats brought back many great memories of her early years in Europe so she decided, once again, to start making the same Portuguese style goat cheeses for her family and friends.
One day Tony's wife, Olga, came up with the idea of starting up a cheese factory with the family recipe. Tony and Olga both left their full time jobs in 1987 to take on this new venture calling their business Nova Cheese Inc.
With Adozinda's cheese expertise, Olga's marketing skills and Tony's manufacturing background the family began supplying Southern Ontario with goat cheese.
In 1989 the previous owners of Woolwich Dairy approached the Dutra's with the intent of selling the business and retiring. The Dutra's jumped at the opportunity to expand and produce a product line which had an established reputation in the finest restaurants in Toronto with the Chevrai brand of goat cheese - their number one seller.
