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Veronica's contribution to the cheese industry is honoured

August 26th, 2017 10:10 PM

By Jackie Keogh

A special Euro-Toques Food Award being presented by Graham Neville to Deirdre Steele in memory of Veronica Steele, the doyen of Ireland's farmhouse cheese industry, through her work with Milleens Cheese in Beara.

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A special commendation honouring the contribution that the late Veronica Steele of Milleens Cheese made to the Irish farmhouse cheese industry was made at the Euro-Toques Food Awards recently.

A SPECIAL commendation honouring the contribution that the late Veronica Steele of Milleens Cheese made to the Irish farmhouse cheese industry was made at the Euro-Toques Food Awards recently.

Veronica Steele, who died in January at the age of 69, was the doyen of Ireland's farmhouse cheese industry and was acknowledged to be the longest established producer of Irish artisan cheese. Veronica was credited with starting the Irish food revolution by creating the award-winning Milleens cheese 40 years ago with her husband, Norman Steele.

The former UCD philosophy and logic student met Norman Steele, a Sussex-born philosophy lecturer at Trinity, and followed him on the back of a motorbike to his reclaimed cow shed cottage in Beara.

There they lived, for a time, without running water and electricity, grew vegetables, and began making what is now their world-famous cheese.

Over the years, Milleens Cheese won countless national and international awards, including Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards.

Just over a year ago, Veronica Steele was awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Irish Cheese Awards, and, at the ceremony, she was given a standing ovation. 

Veronica is described as having ‘blazed a trail for others to follow.'

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