Swiss cheesemaker Steve Ottiger is true artisan
No one knows the art of making Swiss cheese better than those who have made it their life’s passion. Steve Ottiger, now cheesemaker for Guggisberg Cheese, learned the art of cheesemaking in his hometown of Sulz, located in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.It is that kind of knowledge and dedication that has earned Guggisberg Cheese the prestigious Grand Champion Cheesemaker award recently presented during the Ohio Swiss Festival.
“I learned to make cheese as an apprentice when I was 15 years old. I had to go to school, and then also worked in a cheese factory for three years, and then I had to take exams to become a cheesemaker. I took a written examination, then had to do it practically, making cheese by yourself for a day. There was an instructor watching me.
“Then I spent 21 weeks in the Swiss Army. Every male Swiss citizen had to spend time in the army. After that, I worked in a regular dairy in Zurich, Switzerland for one year before I came over here. My father had a farm, and now one of my brothers owns that farm – a dairy farm. They’ve got about 45 cows – Brown Swiss cows,” explained Ottiger.
Once in the United States, Ottiger worked in a Wisconsin cheese house, making seven wheels of Swiss cheese a day. In the evenings, he went to school with other Swiss
in the U.S. for one year, but he was granted a six-month extension. During that time, he completed paperwork to return to the U.S. permanently. At the end of his extension, he returned to Switzerland to wait for his paperwork to be processed. Six months later, in 1961, he was back in the U.S., leaving behind his parents, six brothers, and three sisters.
“I was still in Wisconsin for about six months, then came to Ohio to work at Alpine Cheese. The lady called from Alpine Cheese to Wisconsin, to the cheese factory where I was working, and asked if they had a cheesemaker, so I came to Ohio,” Ottiger said. He worked at Alpine Cheese for 34 years, and has been at Guggisberg Cheese for the past 12 years.
While at Alpine, a fellow employee introduced the cheesemaker to a young lady from Massillon, by the name of Mary. Ottiger and Mary have been married for 44 years, and have two sons.
Ottiger, now 72, said that he is one of the last traditional Swiss born and trained cheesemakers in the business. Currently, he is working with two apprentices at the cheese factory, teaching them the trade.
“The most important thing, you have to have good, clean milk, clean equipment. You have to pay attention to it the whole time you make it. Nowadays, you have a lot of instruments to tell you, so if you have good experience, you should be able to make a good product. It’s very critical that you get the temperature right and everything. Nowadays, the computer helps you make cheese, and if you shut something off too late or too soon, you can ruin the cheese,” stated Ottiger emphatically. “No matter how good the computer system is, it takes a human touch. A natural ability can be part of it, but you can learn how to make good cheese.”
Ottiger can’t really pinpoint the reason that he originally chose to become a cheesemaker when he was just a teenager. “For some reason I picked that profession – I don’t remember why. But I enjoyed making cheese, and I still do.”