Editorial note: All information in this article is based on our June 2025 visit, as part of a larger article on Irish Cheese to be later featured in the Winter 2026 issue of Culture: The Word on Cheese Magazine. Please fact-check all details, figures, technical descriptions, and current business information directly with the cheesemaker before sharing or publishing.
Some cheesemakers make great cheese. Others help inspire an entire generation of cheesemakers. Milleens is one of those rare places that does both.
Located near Eyeries on the beautiful Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland, Milleens is credited with helping launch Ireland’s modern farmhouse cheesemaking movement. Veronica and Norman Steele purchased the farm in the 1970s, and Veronica began experimenting with cheesemaking, working to understand how the milk and the unique conditions of West Cork could come together in a cheese of their own. The result was Milleens: a small, washed-rind cheese that would go on to change the landscape of Irish artisan cheese.
As we traveled around West Cork, Veronica’s name seemed to come up everywhere. Many of the cheesemakers we visited credited her with encouraging them, sharing her knowledge, and helping them get started. She was instrumental in supporting Giana Ferguson at Gubbeen and Jeffa Gill at Durrus, and her generosity helped pave the way for the community of farmhouse cheesemakers that exists today. Veronica passed away in 2017, but her influence is still very much alive.
We were fortunate to meet her son Quinlan Steele, or Quin, who now primarily oversees the cheesemaking and farm operations. Quin graciously welcomed us for a visit on a Sunday — Father’s Day, no less! When we asked about spending the day working, he shared that he’d recently celebrated his birthday, too. His wife had asked what he wanted to do, and his answer was simple: there was nowhere else he’d rather be.
As he put it, “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing. Every day is my birthday. Every day is Father’s Day. I want to do the same thing today that I get to do every day.”
That enthusiasm felt like a fitting continuation of Veronica’s legacy. Quin had an original contract with him, marking a moment in the farm’s history almost exactly 50 years and four days after the cows were moved to the property. It was a tangible reminder of just how much history lives here — and how much of it is still being made.
Today, Milleens remains a small operation, with just three or four people working in the dairy on any given day, including Quin or his son Liam. They now source their milk from a neighboring farm, keeping the operation rooted in the local farming community while continuing to make the cheese that put them on the map.
Their namesake cheese, Milleens, is a petite, semi-soft washed-rind round with a sunset-hued rind and the characteristic Brevibacterium linens (or “b-linens”) that give washed-rind cheeses their distinctive color and aroma. And yes, it’s delightfully stinky! Underneath that pungent, earthy exterior, Milleens is buttery and rich, with a hint of mushroom and a depth of flavor that makes it hard to stop at just one bite.
We also got to taste the petite version, along with CamemBeara, their bloomy-rind cheese inspired by Camembert. It was fun to experience a different expression of the same cheesemaking philosophy — proof that even a small dairy can keep experimenting and finding new ways to work with its milk.
Of course, for Quin, cheesemaking is about much more than what happens inside the dairy. He spoke passionately about the landscape, the animals, and the intricate connections between the soil, the milk, and the cheese.
“These cows and sheep have a better quality of life than we do. The cows are grazing and in front of them is the sea. We just have to try to keep it that way.”
He also talked about how much we still have to learn about the world beneath our feet — the soil biology, the biodiversity, and how all of it ultimately becomes part of the cheese.
“We’re at the tip of the iceberg understanding what’s going on under the earth. And that biome is the soil biology — where cheesemaking becomes so complex — the biodiversity in the soil and the milk and on the rind of our cheese. It’s all the same.”
It’s a perspective that gets to the heart of what makes farmhouse cheese so special. The milk isn’t an interchangeable ingredient; it’s shaped by the animals, the land, and the environment around them. And the cheesemaker’s job is part science, part craft, and part willingness to keep learning.
As Quin summed it up: “Every cheesemaker is a mad inventor.”
We couldn’t agree more. From Veronica’s early experiments to Quin’s continued work on the farm, Milleens is a reminder that innovation and tradition aren’t opposites. Sometimes, the most lasting legacy comes from someone willing to try something new — and generous enough to help others do the same.
Thank you, Quin, for welcoming us on a Sunday and sharing your cheese, your stories, and your perspective. We left with full bellies and an even deeper appreciation for the people who helped shape Ireland’s remarkable farmhouse cheese community.
Do Good. Eat Good.
— Kendall, Antonelli’s Cheese
More pics on the video I posted to Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLQljJeSUiX/
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