Lola Montez

Lola Montez is a certified organic Bavarian mountain cheese made by Evelyn Wild, master cheesemaker, and her team, for Isny Dairy, which was founded 25 years ago in Bavaria.
Back in 1998, a collective of 7 ecologically minded organic dairy farmers banded together with the goal of showcasing the incredibly high quality milk that their cows were producing, as well as gaining a fair and consistent market price for their cheese.
They hired Evelyn to run the business and make their first cheeses and after huge success, she has now hired another full time cheesemaker, Simon, to focus on production. Simon hails from Switzerland, where he trained as a cheesemaker.

This cheese is named after Lola Montez, who was an Irish dancer and actress who was famously also the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The colourful and flavoursome flowers and herbs on the outside of the cheese include Cornflower, Marigold, Rose, Lavender, Parsley, Rosemary, Garlic, Savory, Sea Salt, Onion, Oregano, Paprika and represent Lola’s colourful personality.

All of Isny Dairy’s cheeses are made with the raw milk of cows who graze freely on the rich, green pastures of the Allgäu Mountains in Southwest Germany from spring to late autumn. Käsküche Isny, alongside being organic, have very green practices in place and use steam to both sterilise and power the dairy.

In the winter, the dairy feed the cows on homegrown hay, never silage, and has banned the use of any artificial fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides in its production. They are careful to only mow small areas of land for hay, to allow huge remaining habitats for small animals, rodents and insects to thrive in.
They also have a total ban on preservatives in their cheese.