August 14, 2026
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Photo courtesy of Marieke Gouda

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION — Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Marieke Penterman is celebrating her company Marieke Gouda’s 20th anniversary with a free community festival Aug. 22 that will feature music, a farmer’s market, farm tours, food trucks, kids crafts, family photos and lots of Gouda.

Photo courtesy of Marieke Gouda

A NEW LOOK — Marieke Gouda is rolling out refreshed packaging for its 22 flavor profiles and six age categories. The vibrant new look can be seen on shelves starting this fall.

By Rena Archwamety

THORP, Wis. — To mark 20 years of making award-winning Gouda in Western Wisconsin, Marieke Gouda is hosting Gouda Daze — a family-friendly festival to celebrate the community and cheese lovers who have supported the family-run business over the last two decades.

The free event will take place Saturday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Marieke Gouda farmstead in Thorp, Wisconsin. Gouda Daze will feature a day full of music, food, community and lots of Gouda, including samples of every type of Gouda that Marieke Gouda offers. The celebration also will include a farmer’s market, farm tours, food trucks, unique kids crafts and professional family photos.

When Marieke Penterman started her business 20 years ago, her goal was to create something meaningful and to share her Dutch heritage. Gouda Daze is a celebration of a milestone anniversary and of the community that has supported the business and its cheese along the way.

“It has been quite the ride, and we’ve kept on rolling,” Penterman says. “We would like people to come and try all of our cheeses — we’ll have samples out here. This is a fun event for everybody, it doesn’t matter how young or aged. I think everybody could use a little more Gouda in their lives.”

• A Gouda idea

Penterman moved from the Netherlands to Wisconsin in 2003, joining her husband, Rolf, who had started a dairy farm with his brothers. She had earned a teaching degree in dairy business in the Netherlands, but it was not recognized in the United States, so she decided she would start her own business.

“I didn’t even know how to make Gouda,” Penterman says. “I wanted to start my own business before I turned 30, and I was missing Gouda.”

She traveled back to the Netherlands to study under a woman who had 10 cows, as well as a farmstead cheesemaker with 200 cows. Bringing her newly gained knowledge on traditional Dutch cheesemaking to Wisconsin, Penterman started making Gouda under the name “Holland’s Family Cheese,” all while raising twin 2-year-old girls and her 3-month-old son at the time. She made her first batch on Nov. 22, 2006 — 10 days before she turned 30.

“When we first started, our neighbor said to me, ‘What’s Gouda? Are there enough Dutch people in the area that will buy it?’” Penterman recalls. “It’s great to see now how Gouda has continued to grow.”

The company has continued to grow as well in both size and reputation, from Penterman and one employee making 6,000 pounds of cheese in the first year, to more than 70 employees now making 6,000 pounds of cheese every day. The very first team member, Martha Herrera, along with her sister, Natali, continue to work alongside Penterman as the core cheesemaking team at Marieke Gouda.

Since the beginning, all of the milk used to make Marieke Gouda has been pumped directly from the Penterman farm cows into the cheese vats to be made into cheese within six hours. This gives the company complete control over the entire cheesemaking process, from farm to wheel.

“Milk is such a magical product,” Penterman says. “There’s not a more nutritional product on planet earth. You can make it into cheese, whipped cream, ice cream, sour cream and yogurt — the possibilities are endless. I am fortunate to be able to make cheese with the amazing team here at Marieke Gouda.”

In addition to the cheesemaking team, the Penterman family also has grown over the years to five children.

Penterman says she encourages them all to follow their own path, and they have carried on the family’s entrepreneurial spirit. The oldest two, twins Luna and Joyce, plan to start a farmstead ice cream company after they graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this coming year. They will call it “Da Damas,” meaning “The Ladies” in Dutch.

Penterman also has continued her education and expertise in cheesemaking, becoming the fourth woman in history to earn her Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certification in 2025, and the first woman to be certified in Gouda. The rigorous three-year Master’s program, led by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, is open only to those who have been licensed and practicing cheesemakers in Wisconsin for 10 or more years.

• Award-winning cheese

“I was very happy when my first wheel was cut open, and it smelled wonderful,” Penterman says of her early days of cheesemaking.

She entered her first batch of Foenugreek Gouda in the 2007 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, and it won Best in Class. Since then, Marieke Gouda has won more than 325 awards at state, national and international contests, including Grand Master Cheesemaker at the 2011 Wisconsin State Fair for Gouda Belegen, and Grand Champion of the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for Gouda Mature.

“We were the best cheese in the whole United States — the Grand Champion for that competition — and I got my green card for that, for “extraordinary ability,” Penterman proudly recalls. “It’s a route normally only used by athletes and professors.”

Using one basic recipe, the company is now offering six different age categories and 22 different flavor profiles of Marieke Gouda. Among the most popular varieties are its Smoked, Young and Mature Goudas, as well as flavors like Foenugreek, Honey Clover and the new Holy Trinity Mélange— inspired by Cajun cooking from New Orleans that includes green bell peppers, onions and celery. Marieke Gouda also recently introduced new cold pack cheese spreads in plain, Honey Clover and Hatch Pepper.

Coming this fall, Marieke Gouda will introduce new packaging that includes bold, new colors, refreshed imagery and a cleaner design to spotlight who it is at its core: lively, vibrant, authentic and unmistakable Gouda.

Marieke Gouda continues its winning tradition, this year adding six medals from the World Championship Cheese Contest and nine awards from the American Cheese Society (ACS) competition.

Among this year’s award highlights were Best in Class awards at the World Championship Cheese Contest for Marieke Gouda Honey Clover and Marieke Golden, a Gouda Parmesan blend. Marieke Gouda also earned a Top 11 Best of Show finish for Marieke Golden and gold medals for this cheese, Marieke Gouda Belegen and Marieke Gouda Honey Clover Spread at the ACS competition.

“We are truly honored to receive these medals, and incredibly proud of our team at Marieke Gouda who makes it all possible,” Penterman says. “At the end of the day, our cows, our crew and our customers are the heart and soul of our company. Our team turns passion and pride into cheese we are proud to share. Every day they show up, determined to make something special from every drop of nutritious milk ... Gouda cheese that creates a smile with every bite. Twenty years of cheesemaking, and the focus hasn’t changed — take great care of the cows, work hard as a team and make cheese that creates a memorable moment for everyone. That’s what matters most to us.”

• Spreading knowledge

When people say they have had Gouda and don’t care for it, Penterman says they haven’t had Marieke Gouda.

“It has opened up people to trying other cheeses, and it’s very exciting,” she says. “Customers come in and say, ‘This cheese has changed my life!’ One of the first compliments I received was ‘Every time I eat your cheese, it puts a smile on my face.’ A couple of years ago, a retired dairy farmer said he ate our Gouda, and he hasn’t eaten any other since.”

Marieke Gouda has reached celebrity status, from Wisconsin to Hollywood. Penterman shares that a wheel of her Burning Nettle Gouda made it into a CSI episode that aired in October 2010.

In 2013, Marieke Gouda opened its current state-of-the-art dairy facility off Highway 29 in Thorp, Wisconsin.

With this expansion, Penterman realized her vision of an educational center that would host farm tours and show how Gouda was made. Over 150,000 visitors each year tour the farm and milking parlor as well as view the creamery and aging room for a behind-the-scenes look at how our Marieke Gouda is made. The store offers local wines, cheese, gifts and imported Dutch items, and Café DUTCHess serves cheese-focused breakfast, lunch and appetizers. Additionally, Marieke Gouda sells a curated selection of cheeses, meats and accompaniments at its House of Gouda charcuterie shop that recently relocated to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

“Education is big for us, and a lot of our investment goes into connecting with everyday consumers,” Penterman says. “That’s one reason why we’re having a big free public event, so people can see how we treat our cows. They can snuggle with a cow, cuddle with a calf, see us make product and try an amazing piece of Gouda.”

CMN