Shawano man becomes master cheese maker

Shawano resident Charles Henn was recently recognized for his work in cheese making.

Henn received an award for completing his training on becoming a master cheddar cheese maker on April 14 in Milwaukee.

Henn grew up in Shawano and said that he became interested in cheese making in college.

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” said Henn. “I went to college at UW-River Falls. I had work study money and got a job working on the dairy plant on campus.”

Henn said that he has worked in the cheese making industry for 21 years and walked through the process of how to become a master cheese maker, which includes applying to be in the master cheese making program.

“You have to obtain a cheese maker license — I did that in 2003,” said Henn. “You then have to have your cheese maker license for 10 years before you can apply to get into the program.”

He added that he also needed to take classes through the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) through the University of Wisconsin.

“You need to take two classes there before you can apply,” said Henn. “Once you apply, they only accept a maximum of five people from the program a year.”

According to Henn, once someone is accepted into the program, there are many more steps to complete.

“Once you get into the program, you have to do an oral exam, a plant visit and you have to spend roughly 3½ years working, where you submit cheese samples, take more classes and then take a written exam,” said Henn.

Henn has been working on becoming a master cheese maker since he entered the profession.

“It is a lot of work, it took me 20 years to do it,” said Henn.

He said that when he entered this profession, one of the goals that he wanted to accomplish was becoming a master cheese maker.

“I initially heard about the program when I took my cheese making class in college,” said Henn. “They explained the program and I always thought that it would be nice to have that honor and get into that elite group. I always felt like I had the knowledge to do it.”

Using his knowledge and meeting the requirements is what Henn points to as why he was one of five people in Wisconsin selected this year to receive the award.

“This program is pretty intense,” said Henn. “You are still working while in the program and trying to support your family. I think I stood out though because of my knowledge and experience, as well as the work that I put into the program, including the oral and written exams.”

He added that, with only five people being selected a year from this program, there were times where he was denied from being accepted into the program.

“The first time that I tried to get in, I did not meet all of the requirements,” said Henn. “I was missing a class with the CDR.”

With this being one of his professional goals, Henn said that it is a great feeling to complete this program.

“I feel great about it,” said Henn. “I am very happy that I got into the program and passed it.”

Henn completed the program and was given the award as a master cheese maker with cheddar cheese. He is now looking at becoming a master cheese maker with other cheeses.

“My current plans is in Weyauwega for Agropur — we make cheddar and feta — now I am going to put in my time towards feta cheese and try to become a master cheese maker of feta,” said Henn.

He called this award recognition for the hard work that he has put in for the last two decades.

“Everyone in my organization have been giving me so many congratulations,” said Henn. “All the way up to really high vice presidents have reached out. It has been so positive. Agropur has been such a great company for me. I have only been at the company for six years and three and half were spent with this program.”

Throughout the last 20 years, Henn said that he has learned a couple of things about himself.

“Cheese has really changed my life,” said Henn. “I was a part of a group in college who went to China, where we made cheese out of yak’s milk. Just that whole experience changed my life. Before that I wasn’t really open to trying new foods. Now I will try anything.”

Henn ended giving advice to those who are trying to become a master cheese maker.

“My biggest thing is put in the hard work,” said Henn. “If you want to move up, you need to put in that hard work.”

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com