Fromagerie La Drave: cheese factory project nearing completion

Fromagerie La Drave: cheese factory project nearing completion

After several years of planning and development, the Pontiac’s first cheese production facility is nearing completion.

Maryse Vallières, the brains behind the Fromagerie La Drave as it will be called, spoke with CHIP 101.9 about the the current state of the project and the steps she’s taken so far. Last spring, she rented a lab in St-Hyacinthe to work on product development, adding that they were currently aging some cheddar that would be ready for a taste test at the end of the month, and also mentioned she’s working on a cheese for grilling.

Down the road Vallières  said that she would like to develop a feta, as well as acquire a herd of goats, as their milk and cheese isn’t as heavily regulated as that of cows.

Back in 2023, the project received $100,000 to purchase equipment through the FRR component 4, and Vallières said that she’d pieced together funding and loans through various other streams. Currently, she’s seeking federal authorization in order to be able to sell her products on both sides of the Ottawa River, a process she said is a little more complicated than just going through provincial ministry.

Vallières said that she was aiming to begin construction next year with the goal of having products to sell by the end of 2025, though there are quite a few factors at play.

Initially she estimated that she would need one full-time production employee and a couple part-time delivery people, but said that more would be required as they ramp up production. Her focus is to start with fresh cheeses or curds, and once they construct a space for aging, they could eventually branch out into stronger tasting varieties.