Personal story CASE9
Developed his own cheese from milk, produced at a 100-year old farm
Tsukasa Sasaki (38 years old)
From Obihiro.
Became interested in cheese making
at Hokkaido Obihiro Agricultural High School,
and became one of the founding members of Cheese Factory NEEDS,
joining the company as a cheese artisan in 2003.
9-1A 100-year old farm
Only uses safe, high-quality milk
from a 100-year old farm, since the Meiji period
We are a cheese factory that makes cheese
only with milk from a 100-year old Nitta Farm,
which opened in Meiji period.
The factory is surrounded by over 700ha of pasture belonging to the Nitta Farm.
They supply their own feed such as grass, dent corn, and silage
on this expansive land.
A farm, independent of imported feed,
is extremely rare,
even in Hokkaido.
There is a brook that runs through the pastoral land,
and an oak tree that is over 200-year old.
These contribute to its beautiful landscape.
9-2Joining NEEDS when it was founded
Aiming to make unique cheeses
Started with 3 artisan friends
Immediately after graduating from Hokkaido Obihiro Agricultural High School,
I joined NEEDS.
NEEDS was founded and looking for cheese makers, and I was hired.
It has been nearly 20 years since the 3 of us started working,
with passion and power of youth,
and struggled to create unique cheeses from Makubetsu.
My first encounter with cheese
was when I made blue cheese with a teacher,
who was devoted to making cheeses at Obihiro Agricultural High School.
My friends dismissed us saying, “Cheese is such a stinky and peculiar food,”
so the 2 of us, my teacher and I, got into the cheese making.
My teacher told me about NEEDS looking for artisans,
so I owe everything I have today to him.
He is my mentor.
He is now retired,
and making cheese at home.
He still gives me advice at times; I am grateful for our relationship.
9-3Making cheese that can be tirelessly eaten everyday
Even the cheese-haters can eat them!?
Flavorful cheeses made with delicious milk
When the factory opened,
2 kinds of cheeses were made: “Daichi no Hoppe” and “Kashiwa.”
NEEDS aims to create easy to eat cheese by reducing their distinctive foul smell.
Our delicate cheeses can be tirelessly eaten everyday, and also used to cook.
“Kashiwa” is a hard cheese, aged 4 months,
and it has a perfect balance of aged aroma and saltiness.
“Daichi no Hoppe” is created in a very unique method,
where it is dehydrated with its own weight while being washed with salt water,
and packaged in about 2 weeks.
It has a distinctive plump and soft texture, like baby’s cheeks.
Recently, mozzarella, caciocavallo, and raclette are rapidly gaining popularity.
9-4A shop located on a pasture that is greater than 700ha
We are waiting for your visit
to our Makubetsu shop,
located in the middle of a large pasture！
Expansive grass pasture surrounds the cheese factory.
In the summer time, beautiful scenery spreads,
where an oak tree, a part of the NEEDS’ logo,
stands amidst a green carpet.
During the Showa era,
this beautiful scenery was chosen for filming a movie.
It is in countryside, away from the city,
but perhaps the unique, magnificent nature
can cleanse your soul.
Please come visit us in Makubetsu
for the splendor of nature and delicious foods.
