I met Martin during our stay in Andeer. The little town was included in the expedition route because of its proximity to Juf — the highest mountain village in Switzerland and Europe. It was exactly the middle of a three-week trip, and a quiet place surrounded by the mountains seemed like a great place to stop.

One Sunday I run into a cheese shop that was closed, but through the windows, I saw several stands with unique postcards — they depicted beautiful and even poetic portraits of cows and shepherds. I also managed to see the production rooms — so clean and empty that the thought flashed through if they were closed for the holidays.

The next day I went to the store to get acquainted with its owner. When I asked him to give me a few minutes, Martin, who was fussing behind the counter, said that he had absolutely no time, but he was going to distribute products to several shops and restaurants, and if I wanted, I could join him.

Over the next few hours in the car, Martin told me his whole story, how and why he moved from Germany to Switzerland 20 years ago, and what is the life of a cheese maker in the village.

He opened his business in Andeer at the request of the local farmers' association. Before that, he and his wife came to Switzerland to study cattle breeding in the highlands. Maria is a professional cheese maker, Martin studied at the Faculty of Agriculture and was in love with cows. At that time in Andeer, there was no one who processed milk. So the farmers offered Martin to rent a house belonging to their association for a nominal payment, on the condition that he would buy milk from them. Soon Martin's family bought a house next to the cheese factory and rebuilt it, making cheese storage in the basement.

Almost all the cheeses, except blue cheese and parmesan, which are sold in the shop, are made in Andeer by Martin and his wife. Parmesan appeared in the assortment only by Christmas 2021, a few months before that, the surrounding restaurants had already bought it out by pre-order.

From Andeer, Martin delivers cheeses, milk and yogurts to several outlets in the canton and on special orders, for example, he personally brings yogurt to the father of chef Andreas Caminada, the owner of three Michelin stars and one of the brightest representatives of Swiss cuisine. Personally — because this is a "very important client".

Martin has three points of sale, and the shop in Andeer next to his house is the main one. The production is located here as well. The second store is in the town of Thusis. Another place where you can buy his products is a souvenir shop on the highway. He also supplies yoghurts, cheese, and milk to all hotels in Andeer and several hotels and restaurants in the region.

Maria, Martin's wife, makes cheese in the same building where the shop is located. At 6:45 a.m. after the morning milking, farmers bring milk — in jeeps, in cans, on carts. From the cans, it is pumped into a large container, where Maria checks it for fat content. Fresh cheese is made from it right afterwards. Some parts are sold the next day, and some heads are sent to age in storage.

The cheese heads in the storage are marked with the month when the cheese was made, and as they mature, they move deeper and deeper into the storage. The shape of the cheese head indicates its kind. The storage facilities maintain a certain humidity and temperature necessary for proper ageing. Soft cheeses have separate shelves.

Each head of cheese is washed daily with water and salt. The older the cheese, the lower the salt concentration. Some of them are not washed on purpose — and mould grows on them.

In addition to cheese and dairy products, Martin's shop sells spices, teas and other local products. Martin says that all of them have been carefully selected by his own taste — if something is not sold on time, he tries to use the products himself so that nothing is going to waste. He cooks three times a day for his entire team.

During the 2019-2020 pandemic, sales in the store were interrupted for only two weeks, the rest of the time the store and the cheese factory worked. When he and his wife got sick, they had to briefly move production to a cheese maker in a neighbouring town, but it was impossible to stop it — cows give milk regardless of the health of the cheese maker.

In Switzerland, the pandemic surprisingly created new opportunities for small businesses. The demand for locally produced products and the share of domestic tourism has increased. So this not only did not affect the income, but even helped small stores to survive successfully for several years. Martin rates his business as quite successful. Its only drawback is that when you work for yourself, you are busy around the clock. At six in the morning every day they take milk, and until late in the evening they work in the shop and in production… and without days off.

When asked if he feels like Swiss, Martin answered “No”. However, he doesn't feel like a German either. He says his heart is in the mountains, on the border of pastures and forests, where cows graze in summer.