The big cheese: the family behind Gubbeen

Gubbeen is one of Ireland’s best-known cheeses, but it’s also a farm that is home to a hard working familyof food lovers


Gubbeen is a 250-acre, traditional farm on the most south-westerly tip of Ireland and is renowned for its award-winning cheese (called Gubbeen) and its smoked meats.

This book is about the family who live on the farm – Giana, Tom, Fingal and Clovisse – and what they do, from looking after their animals (poultry, pigs and cows), to cheesemaking, smoking meats and growing biodynamic vegetables.

Giana manages the dairy as well as keeping a keen eye on the poultry. Tom has worked the land all his life, following the old farming traditions of his forbearers.

Their son Fingal creates his own salamis, chorizo, hams and bacon in the smokehouse, while their daughter Clovisse, a cook, tends to the kitchen garden, feeding the family, guests and supplying local restaurants with her salads, herbs and vegetables.

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Nothing is wasted and the circle of life sustains the family whilst creating the highest quality products for speciality shops around the world.

In this book they share their stories, and offer practical advice and delicious recipes.

Gubbeen: The Story of a Working Farm and its Foods by Giana Ferguson is published by Kyle Books, £25. Photography by Andy Sewell