Back Forty Artisan Cheese
Founded in 2000, Back Forty is a small creamery and cheese shop located on a farm in the hamlet of Mississippi Station Ontario where cheesemaker Jeff Fenwick hand-crafts artisanal cheeses of the highest quality. Back Forty’s original raw ewe milk cheeses have grown into a local favorite and have become loved and trusted by many of the province's top chefs and cheese lovers alike.
Using traditional old-world methods and 100% natural unpasteurized sheep’s milk, each cheese is made by hand in small batches and then carefully tended to and aged from two to 12 months. In their petite fromagerie they produce six ewe’s milk cheeses: Flower Station, Madawaska, Bonnechere, Highland Blue, Ompah, and Pecorino Verona. In 2018 Back Forty started making cheeses with raw water buffalo milk and introduced the new Calabogie Blue Cheese and Little Antoines.
The Back Forty farm is home to the dairy, cheese shop, and riverside bistro and is located in Mississippi Station, Ontario, an hour west of Ottawa. The shop offers a full selection of our raw-sheep’s milk cheeses, as well as a range of locally made products including cured meats, honey, maple syrup, chocolate, coffee beans, preserves, and Back Forty’s own farm raised grass-fed organic lamb, Highland Beef, and whey-fed pork.
The outdoor live fire kitchen and riverside bistro serve a seasonal farm-to-table menu, including wood-oven pizzas, salads, and tasting boards, and the licensed riverside patio features Ontario craft beer, cider, and wine. All the produce used in the menu is grown in Back Forty’s organic garden and the meats are all raised on farm, including organic chicken, lamb, Highbeef, and pork.
The Cheese Shop and Bistro is open every Friday and Saturday 11:30-7 from June 16th to Labour Day with a rotating seasonal farm-to-table menu. It’s casual outdoor dining riverside at picnic tables, muskoka chairs, and bar.
