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Post 4: Hello My Name Is…


Marie Flanagan at desk with laptop

Coach Farm is searching for a name for its new raw aged goat’s milk cheese. Several bloggers received samples of the cheese so they could taste and describe it for our readers. Today’s post comes from Marie Flanagan of You Are Where You Eat.


When a box of cheese arrives at your doorstep, an average day gets upgraded to first-class – especially when it’s Culture Magazine sending you new cheese from Coach Farm. Earlier this month, I was selected by Culture Magazine during their Hello My Name Is…Blogger Contest to write about a new cheese. For this particular contest, they sent me a shipment of Coach Farm goat cheese, including a brand-new variety of raw goat’s milk cheese.

coach farm rawstruck beauty shot by marie flanagan

Many remember Miles and Lilian Cahn as the owners of the famous Coach Leatherware Company – you know, the makers of belts, wallets, and those oh-so coveted handbags. Well, in 1985, the Cahns sold Coach Leatherware, and since then they’ve been “held hostage” by their herd of more than 1000 Alpine French goats at Coach Farm.

Located outside of New York City in the Hudson Valley, Coach Farm’s cheesemaker Mark Newbold crafts artisanal goat cheese for a wide variety of customers, including foodie major leaguers like Mario Baltali and Pierre Chambrin. Coach Farm bagged a 1st place prize at the 2008 World Championship Cheese Contest for their Triple Cream Wheel, and that’s just one of many awards they’ve locked down.

The as yet unnamed Coach Farm raw milk goat cheese that arrived on my doorstep was all dolled up in an insulated box, tucked in alongside a few cheesy companions. As I unpacked the box, I smiled when I got my mitts on the big hunk of raw goat’s milk cheese. Reminiscent of bûcheron, a French cheese which is usually aged for 25-50 days, Coach Farm’s raw milk cheese is made with unpasteurized milk and aged for at least 60 days.

package of coach farm cheeses including rawstruck by marie flanagan

It has a bloomy, edible rind, and inside the rind, the cheese proffers two layers of flavor and texture. A thin creamline of smooth pâte gives way to a substantial layer of semi-firm, slightly tangy chèvre. Pair it with a glass of sparkling Vouvray and some grapes, and enjoy it at brunch or for an evening dessert. The flavor is clean and bold enough to pair with your beet salad, but it expresses itself more nobly alongside some simple fresh fruit. And for that reason, I suggest Noble Raw as the name for this new cheese.


Marie Flanagan is known to the Twin Cities food blogging community as Reetsyburger—but she’s also Minnesota Monthly‘s sustainable food correspondent and a Senior Editor for North Central Region SARE, a sustainable agriculture research and education program.

Marie Flannigan

Marie Flanagan is known to the Twin Cities food blogging community as Reetsyburger—but she's also Minnesota Monthly's sustainable food correspondent and a Senior Editor for North Central Region SARE, a sustainable agriculture research and education program.

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