River Whey Creamery

Founder of River Whey Creamery, Susan Rigg, had a passion for cooking that grew while working in the book retail business for 15 years. In 2007, she hung up her book selling shoes and took a leap of faith into the professional world of culinary arts by enrolling in the Culinary Institute of Americain San Antonio, TX then graduating from CIA - Hyde Park, NY.  She survived (phew!)and returned to San Antonio - apron pressed, knives sharpened. River Whey Creameryis a dream come true, and as with most dreams, it started with a small acorn of possibility and a passion for something. In this case, world class cheese! We believe in great Texas dirt which makes great Texas grass and great Texas milk. It’s our job to turn that into great Texas cheese. We are not just farm to table, but Earth to Soul with a true belief in sustainability and transparency. Watch this video by clicking the button below of Susan talking about her journey to become a cheesemaker. This interview was done by the San Antonio Express-News in February of 2018. To learn the nuances of cheese, Susan completed the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ‘Artisanal Cheese Maker's Short Course’in 2013 gaining valuable information about the art and science of cheese making from experts in the field. She then spent the better part of a year doing product development on her current cheeses as well as designing and building the new creamery in Schertz. Hard work and good fortune paid off in 2016 when River Whey Creamery won first place in the Fresh - Flavored Cheeses category for our winter seasonal cheese, St. Clements®, made with organic oranges and lemons and Texas honey. In 2017, Susan completed the Fundamentals of Artisan Cheese at Sterling Collegein conjunction with The Cellars at Jasper Hillin Vermont.  In May of 2018, Susan traveled to the United Kingdom to spend time making cheese with Quicke's Cheddarand Trethowan's Dairy, makers of Gorwydd Caerphilly. Watch this video of our founder, Susan Rigg talking about the origin of River Whey Creamery with UNESCO. River Whey cheeses have been in production since October 2014 and are available at H-E-B Central Markets, Whole Foods Markets and all across Texas, Antonelli’s Cheese Shop in Austin, TX and many other local restaurants, hotels, wineries, and shops.  For more information about wholesale to chefs, hotels, and restaurants, visit our contact page and send us a message. Susan’s passion for producing cheeses that are truly unique has resulted in five fine aged cheeses:Keystone®,Caldera España®,The Welshman®, Indigo Ridge®,and Whey Blue®. Jaicen is our multi-talented Pack & Ship Department Manager. He supervises harvesting of cheeses, packaging, and outgoing shipments. #belikejaicen Ashton is our Production Manager and hails from Arizona where she has spent time working on farms and making cheese! She's now an expert who teaches many of our classes. Tom is our Brand Ambassador who handles our wholesale accounts. He is a graduate of the CIA Culinary Program, an Army veteran, a heart transplant recipient, and a true renaissance man! He is also a Certified Wine Specialist. This man knows his Texas wines! Ian is a multi-talented guy and splits his time between Pack & Ship and Cheese Production. He spent years in New York and worked for Murray's Cheese. Ian is also becoming an expert at affinage . . . the art of managing a cheese cave . . . otherwise known as a microbe wrangler! Maria is one of our talented cheesemakers who loves to delve into all things science. She is definitely a curd nerd . . . and she is also a Register Nurse! It's great having multi-dimensional people on our team! Jason is a jack of all trades at River Whey. He started doing milk runs and deliveries, then moved into packaging, and is now honing his skills as a cheesemaker. Great job climbing that ladder, Jason! Say hello to Cesar, the newest member of #teamriverwhey. You are likely to see him when he makes deliveries or goes to the farm for our milk ru