“Farming isn’t a job; it’s a way of life,” and it’s one that Christine Leonard, a 6th generation dairy farmer on the Leonard Family Farm and owner of The Grater Good, loves. “I love the rhythm and life of farming, the good and the bad times.” Christine grew up with dairy cows in her backyard and lightheartedly admits that she’s been playing with her food her whole life. It wasn’t until she headed east to the University of Wisconsin Stout for a degree in Food Science that she realized home was where her heart and passion lived. She’d been bitten by the farming bug, and no amount of “rubbing a little dirt on it” would sway her.
Her parents were reluctant; they wanted her to think long and hard. “Farming is a lot of work. You milk twice a day, 365 days a year, and margins can be difficult,” Christine admits. She took more time away and became an assistant cheesemaker at Redhead Creamery, where she found another love: artisan cheese. “I’ve always been interested in farm to fork, how our food changes. There’s nothing like milking a cow in the morning, then eating a cheese curd made from that milk in the afternoon.”
In 2018, Christine’s path on the map of life brought her back to the Leonard Family Farm, and a year later, aspiring for greater possibilities, The Grater Good was born. “Initially, I thought we could bottle milk or process our own cheese, but that’s not in the cards right now.” Christine utilized her relationships with grocers, artisan farms, and creameries and began making small cheese boards for friends. “When people started asking if they could buy a few, I thought maybe I have something here.” She quickly learned a licensed commercial kitchen was needed to make her business plans work, so her dad and brother gutted an old announcing booth from the Minnesota State Fair, where all her edible artwork is created.
It will come as no surprise that Christine believes cheese is the most important ingredient on her boards. “The cheese is where I begin, and I build from there in the way I want people to eat it. With intention.” On these roadmaps of flavors and textures she creates, Christine never places an accompaniment next to a cheese you wouldn’t eat it with. “I’d never put olives next to honey goat cheese because you’d never eat those things together.” Along with an array of locally sourced components, each of her boards comes with an informational sheet, a key to her roadmaps, that shares each cheese’s backstory and pairing suggestions.
With the holiday season in full swing, Christine’s hope is that you place one of her boards in the center of a table filled with loved ones, slow down, and enjoy. Or, if you need a quick “something to bring,” she suggests grabbing a wedge of blue cheese, drizzling honey on it, adding candied walnuts, and bringing along a sleeve of crackers for an appetizer that’s sure to impress. “It’s also a perfect excuse to use the snowman plate that’s sitting in the back of your cupboard,” Christine laughs. And if you’d rather cover Frosty with your own creation, she says don’t overcomplicate it. “It’s okay to keep it simple with a couple of different cheeses, nuts, and jams.”
You’ve been living under a cheese block if you haven’t heard of a Grater Good class or tasting, usually held at a winery or brewery. Christine also does private classes at people's homes, making for a really great gift around the holidays! Being with people fills Christine’s cup, and so do her cows. “They’re why we have a cheese business at all. I love working with cows.” Each of their 45 has a name, and each is a vital part of their family’s story. “Beautiful food from people who care” is their tagline, but perhaps it should be, “Beautiful food from people who care, are filled with passion and excitement for the next stop on their roadmap of life.”
The cheese is where I begin, and I build from there in the way I want people to eat it. With intention.