The age-old craft of artisanal cheese-making is alive and well today in here in Ontario.  Monforte Dairy, housed in the old Parmalat dairy in Millbank, is a small cheese production facility that blends ancient techniques with local Mennonite produced sheep’s milk.  A self-taught cheese maker, Ruth Klahsen, is the dynamo behind Monforte, one of the few artisanal sheep cheese producers in Ontario.  No stranger to good food, Ruth’s previous career as a Stratford chef prodded her into creating simple, nourishing cheese from an old world staple – sheep’s milk.  True to her values on the importance of promoting local food, Ruth sources her East Friesen/Dorset cross sheep milk from Amish farmers near Ingersoll.  All of the sheep are hormone-free.  Monforte produces a full selection of sheep and goat's milk cheeses which are available in approximately 50 locations in southern Ontario.