Laura Chenel

Laura Chenel is an American cheesemaking brand and the name of its founder, a Sonoma County, California cheesemaker known for helping establish French-style goat cheese as a notable American specialty. Chenel began working in the mid-1970s at her parents' turkey ranch and nearby family restaurant in Sebastopol. She first kept goats in a converted shelter and used their milk to make yogurt and kefir. After expanding her herd, she worked with the Redwood Empire Dairy Goat Association to explore making cheese from surplus goat milk and visited food retailers in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Berkeley to understand the emerging market. Chenel became particularly interested in fresh French goat cheese made from raw milk and coated with ash after encountering the style at a San Francisco cheese shop. To learn the technique, she studied French at Sonoma State University and established contact with Jean-Claude Le Jaouen, a French goat-cheese specialist and author. In 1979, she spent several months apprenticing with farmstead cheesemakers in France. She returned to California with mold cultures from the farms she had visited and began producing cheese in the basement of her Sonoma County home. Early experiments included ash-coated chabis, pyramids, and crottin, although some products did not initially achieve consistent quality or market demand. The turning point came in 1981, when Alice Waters of Chez Panisse encountered Chenel's cheese at a farmers' market. Chez Panisse began ordering approximately 50 pounds of chèvre each week for a salad featuring breaded and baked rounds of the cheese. The restaurant association helped bring Chenel's eight-ounce chèvre to the attention of chefs and consumers and gave the company a prominent place in the development of American artisan cheese. That year Chenel moved to Santa Rosa and converted a former food-processing plant on Ridley Avenue into a cheese factory. She eventually stopped maintaining a commercial goat herd herself in order to concentrate on cheesemaking and production management. During the 1980s and 1990s, the company developed a reputation among chefs and specialty-food retailers for American goat cheese made in a French style. By the mid-1990s, its reported annual production exceeded two million pounds. In 1993, Chenel returned to Sonoma County and took over a former Clover-Stornetta Farms bottling plant to increase production and consolidate her goat operation. Beginning with 12 Saanen goats in 1995, she added animals from several western and central states and expanded the herd to approximately 500 goats, including Anglo-Nubians, Toggenburgers, Alpines, and American LaManchas. Rians International, a French dairy company seeking to expand its presence in the American market, approached Chenel in 2005. Although she was initially reluctant to sell, she was persuaded by the company's emphasis on quality and traditional production. In 2006, Rians acquired the production equipment at the Stornetta facility, including vats, pasteurizers, and packaging lines, for an undisclosed amount. Chenel retained her herd and continued supplying milk, while 18 employees transferred to the new ownership. Rians leased the former dairy and bottling plant until 2011. Under Rians ownership, the Laura Chenel name continued as a goat-cheese business. By 2023, the supply network had expanded to eight goat-milk farms in California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho, with further dairy-base expansion being pursued to meet demand. The brand's identity remains tied to fresh and specialty goat cheeses, Sonoma County cheesemaking, French-inspired methods, and the broader American artisan-cheese movement.

Laura Chenel's history began in the mid-1970s in Sebastopol, California, where Laura Chenel helped operate her family's turkey ranch and restaurant. She began keeping goats in a converted shelter and experimented with yogurt and kefir made from their milk. As the herd grew, she proposed using surplus goat milk for cheese production to the Redwood Empire Dairy Goat Association. The resulting cooperative effort and her visits to food retailers helped her assess whether a local market existed for goat cheese. A decisive influence was Chenel's encounter with fresh French goat cheese made from raw milk and finished with ash. Wanting to reproduce the style, she studied French at Sonoma State University and contacted Jean-Claude Le Jaouen, a French technical specialist and writer on farmstead goat cheesemaking. In 1979, Chenel traveled to France for roughly three and a half months, apprenticing with four farmstead producers in Angoulême, Carcassonne, and Joigny. She returned with mold specimens and applied the techniques in Sonoma County. Chenel initially made cheese in the basement of her home near Vine Hill Road. The first batches were affected by the existing microbial environment, and she had to wait for conditions to stabilize before achieving the desired flavor and texture. Her early products included ash-coated chabis, pyramids, and crottin, but inconsistent demand and difficulties with some formats led her to focus increasingly on white-mold and fresh chèvre. In 1981, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse discovered the cheese at a farmers' market and began ordering it for a signature salad preparation. This relationship brought Chenel's product to influential chefs and helped demonstrate that American goat cheese could compete with established French products. Also in 1981, Chenel moved to Santa Rosa and converted a former food-processing plant into a creamery. Over the following twelve years, she concentrated on production and eventually gave up her own goats because the demands of maintaining strict standards for the animals and the cheese were difficult to combine. During the 1980s, the company built a reputation with restaurants and specialty retailers. Although American chefs and consumers still often preferred imported French cheeses, domestic interest in goat cheese increased. By the middle of the 1990s, the company was producing more than two million pounds annually. In 1993, Chenel returned to Sonoma County and took over a former Clover-Stornetta Farms bottling plant. The move was intended to increase production and centralize the goat herd. In 1995, the herd numbered 12 goats, followed by the addition of approximately 80 goats acquired from Wyoming, South Dakota, and Idaho. Over time, the herd grew to around 500 animals and included Saanens, Anglo-Nubians, Toggenburgers, Alpines, and American LaManchas. Rians International entered the company's history in 2005, when an intermediary contacted Chenel on behalf of Hugues Triballat. Rians was already selling some cheese products in the United States and wanted to increase its American presence. Chenel was not initially seeking a sale, but discussions changed after she became comfortable with Rians's stated focus on quality and craft. In 2006, Rians acquired the cheesemaking equipment and assumed control of the production operation. The transaction amount was not disclosed. Chenel kept the herd and remained a milk supplier, while 18 employees transferred to Rians. The former Stornetta property continued to be leased by Rians until 2011. The business subsequently operated within Rians's broader dairy structure while retaining the Laura Chenel identity. By 2023, its goat-milk supply came from eight farms located in California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho. The brand's development illustrates the transition of goat cheese from a niche imported specialty into an established category within American restaurants, specialty retail, and artisan food culture.

• 2023

  Supply network reaches eight farms

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  The business was reported to source goat milk from eight farms across four western states and to seek additional suppliers.

• 2006

  Rians acquires the production operation

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Rians acquired the equipment and took over the operating business, while Chenel retained her herd and continued supplying milk.

• 1995

  New herd-building program begins

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  The new herd began with 12 goats and later expanded with animals sourced from several states, eventually reaching approximately 500 goats.

• 1993

  Production returns to Sonoma County

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Chenel took over a former Clover-Stornetta Farms bottling plant to expand production and consolidate her goat operation.

• 1981

  Chez Panisse adopts Chenel chèvre

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Alice Waters encountered Chenel's cheese at a farmers' market, after which Chez Panisse began ordering approximately 50 pounds per week for a salad preparation.

• 1981

  Santa Rosa creamery opens

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Chenel converted a former food-processing plant on Ridley Avenue in Santa Rosa into a cheese factory.

• 1979

  Chenel apprentices in France

  [1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Laura Chenel spent approximately three and a half months apprenticing with four farmstead cheesemakers in France and returned with techniques and mold cultures used in her California production.

A premium American goat-cheese brand rooted in Sonoma County craftsmanship and French cheesemaking techniques, serving specialty-food retailers, chefs, restaurants, and consumers seeking fresh and artisan-style chèvre.

• Goat cheese · 1981

  Fresh chèvre

  Fresh chèvre became the defining product associated with Laura Chenel. The eight-ounce format gained significant visibility after Chez Panisse used it in a salad featuring breaded and baked cheese rounds. Its profile reflects the brand's emphasis on fresh, mild, French-influenced goat cheese for restaurant and specialty-food applications.

• Goat cheese · 1979

  Ash-coated chabis

  Ash-coated chabis was among Chenel's early French-inspired products. The style uses an ash finish associated with traditional French goat cheesemaking and formed part of Chenel's initial effort to adapt farmstead techniques learned in France to Sonoma County production.

• Goat cheese · 1979

  Goat-cheese pyramids

  Pyramid-shaped goat cheeses were part of Chenel's early product experiments after her return from France. They reflected the company's focus on distinctive French-style forms and the use of ash and mold in specialty chèvre production.

• Goat cheese · 1979

  Crottin

  Crottin was another early French-style product made by Chenel. Initial batches were described as becoming very hard and dry, illustrating the technical challenges of reproducing traditional goat-cheese formats in the company's early home-based production.

• 2006

  Sell the production operation to RiansM&A

  Background

  Rians wanted to expand its American cheese business, while Chenel was seeking a buyer that would respect the company's quality and craft orientation.

  Action taken

  Rians acquired the vats, pasteurizers, packaging lines, and other production equipment and assumed control of the operating business. Chenel retained her herd and continued supplying milk.

  Aftermath

  The employees transferred to Rians, and the business continued under the Laura Chenel identity. Rians later developed a multi-state goat-milk supply network.

  Source

• 2023

  Laura Chenel expands its goat-milk supply network[1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Rians-operated business was reported to source goat milk from eight farms across California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho while pursuing additional dairy suppliers to meet rising customer demand.

• 2006

  Rians acquires Laura Chenel cheesemaking equipment and business operations[1]Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Rians International acquired the production equipment at Laura Chenel's Stornetta facility. Chenel retained her approximately 500-goat herd, continued supplying milk, and the company's 18 employees moved to the new ownership.

1. 1Laura Chenelen.wikipedia.org