And just when we thought that our holiday was over and we had seen all the places in kodaikanal, a pleasant new year surprise awaited us.
We decided to visit the “Caroselle – The Gourmand’s Cheese “, to get a first hand experience of organic, hand made cheese factory. To start with, the place is located in a very silent beautiful location away from the noise and pollution of the main Kodaikanal tourist place.
We decided not to drive through their private motorable road, but walked to the factory, the trek was fun, with birds chirping, monkeys playing, with the background score of flowing water somewhere in the mountains; Truly we felt very close to mother nature!
When we reached, the Master Cheese Maker Hanneke Tubben along with Patti Tower, the Managing Director were waiting with open arms to recieve us. Since we reached late in the evening we did not get to see how the cheese was made, but we sure got to see their collection of ageing cheese in their cellar.
The speciality of the cheese is that it is made from the milk of cross bred Friesian-Holsteins cows, that are well taken care by them, at the valley.
Hanneke has her own very special varieties of cheese that are made at Caroselle viz. Montasio, Parmesan, Camembert, Gouda, Edams, Cheddar and the Feta.
A little history about the place, Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet founded the Aeon Centre of Cosmology at Kodaikanal. She inspired and encourged Hanekke and together they started Caroselle. Hanekke starts her day at 5am and does not stop till evening. They do not use any machines or hi-technology to make their cheese. They are all organic and hand made, including the cutting and packing.
Caroselle has conducted tours and cheese tasting for guests. If you are on such a tour, never miss The Aeon Center of Cosmology house where they have displayed some of the exhibition materials of their mentor Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, who passed away in 2016.
Many 5 star hotels, niche/speciality stores across India use and as well as sell Caroselle cheese. But nothing like being there, experiencing the place and tasting the cheese. Any cheese lovers would never want to miss a visit to this place. I would say this is a must visit place in Kodaikanal.
My heartfelt thank you to Patti and Hanneke for your time in showing us the place, explaining the process and the warmth you showered on us!
If you intend to visit this place, here are the details: Office #: +91 90475 67730, email: carosellecheese@gmail.com. You can also locate them using google map. They are located at Pethuparai, via Perumal Malai on Palani Road, Kodaikanal.
Note: The Cellar is a restricted area and strictly restricted to general public and everyone. Entry is at the discretion of / and approval by Caroselle Management.
yogitauchil 