The Cheese Gentlemen

Anyone who attempts to climb a spectacular Swiss hillside with photographic equipment in tow to capture the majestic views of the rolling Alps has well earned my deep respect, even far before stepping foot onto the base of its mountainous range.

Now artists taking to these same measures for the purpose of cheesemaking documentation?

Well... be still my beaty, fluttering heart.

Enter the Swiss Cheese Makers, an editorial project with Swiss artists Fabian Scheffold and István Vizner, the bold photographers who took to the Alps to capture the cheese chalets of the Swiss mountainsides, and the very men who occupy them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the strapping lads, the white knights upon fiery steeds, the very heroes of Swiss mountain farmstead cheesemaking.

Please enjoy the following compelling images.

....and if I may suggest, this would be a perfect time to envision the Bonnie Taylor "I Need a Hero" theme song to accompany your viewing pleasure.

All images by Scheffold and Istvan Vizner

Where have all the good men gone?

and where are all the gods?

Where’s the street-wise Hercules?

to fight the rising odds?

Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Why yes, there is.

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above,

out where the lightning splits the sea.

How we love our high altitude mountain cheeses, and those that make them.

 For what isn't there to love when a loved one arrives to the homefront from a labor intensive day at the office, wiping the sweat off the brow, with a smile about the face, while bearing gifts of unadulterated milk, including the Swiss Emmentalers, Le Gruyères, the Tommes, and the Raclette suisse.

Hail the heroes of centuries-old handmade cheese traditions.

Blessed are the cheesemakers

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