Sierra Nevada Cheese Company was founded in 1997 by Ben Gregersen and John Dundon.

Ben and John discovered they had a common interest in making the best quality artisan cheeses using traditional methods, while working together at the Gregersen’s family creamery, Foothill Home Dairy, a Sacramento landmark for over 40 years.

Ben and John first introduced their cheese products to various local farmers markets. Market demand increased quickly, and soon their cheeses were sought out by local retail stores. In 2003, the company’s successful growth allowed them to relocate their creamery 100 miles north of Sacramento to Willows, California, where they are located today.

Ben and John are both hands-on owners and operators of Sierra Nevada Cheese Company. Their mission is to provide their customers with the highest quality product using only the most wholesome milk, free of added hormones, preservatives, stabilizers, gums, and nothing artificial… just great cheese.

Ben and John have 50 years of combined experience and they have never wavered from the industry and their own standards.

Ben Gregersen

The Gregersen family has been in the dairy industry for generations. Ben grew up in his family-owned creamery business, Foothill Home Dairy in Sacramento. His earliest memories are riding the milk route with his father and doing small jobs at the creamery, working for the prized wage of a popsicle! One of Ben’s fondest memories is the enormous pride he felt as a kid when he would see the family’s company name on the side of a milk carton.

Ben’s interest in the creamery business grew, and in his 20’s, he traveled to Denmark where he worked at Bov Majeri, a cheese factory located on the southern peninsula of Jutland, near the small town of Froslev, hometown to his Mother and Father. He also attended courses at Dalum, a dairy technical school in the town of Odense. To this day, Ben credits his cheese making talents to the resources and skills he learned at this school and from the wonderful people he worked with in Denmark.

Ben continued his dairy education in Canada at the University of Manitoba where he completed a dairy technical program during a couple of “very cold” winters which was located at the on campus creamery where he learned to make great Canadian cheddar.

Today, Ben feels the same pride he felt as a kid when he sees the Sierra Nevada Cheese Company name and logo on their products. He is very proud of the cheese, butter and yogurt the company makes and enjoys the challenge of maintaining the focus on innovation and creativeness of which has made Sierra Nevada Cheese Company a leading artisan food manufacturer.

John Dundon

John began his experience in the dairy industry while attending college in Weed, California. He began working part time for a distributor delivering milk, cheese and other dairy products through Siskiyou County. He furthered his career at a small creamery in Weed where he received his pasteurizer license. Later, John moved to Sacramento where he was hired at Ben’s family creamery to supervise production and processing. John also spent about four years working at Brown Cow Farms in Antioch making yogurt before founding the Sierra Nevada Cheese Company with his friend, Ben.

Cheese is John’s favorite food and he continues to enjoy the process of bringing the freshest milk from the farms and transforming it into beautiful award winning cheese for the table. He also enjoys experimenting with new products and recipes, so be on the lookout for his newest creations!

Our cream cheese process exemplifies the artisan nature of our handcrafted methods. Rich flavor originates from vat-cultured milk, cream, and sea salt. Curds packed into muslin bags are individually hand-rotated and drained to create a remarkably light texture.

In an age of industrialized manufacturing, our pure ingredients and simple processing provide your family with the wholesome goodness of authentic, farmhouse-style dairy foods.

Contact Us For More »