Maker · Cheese
Kaasfort Amsterdam
A fort from 1903 from the Stelling van Amsterdam, nine aging cellars each with its own climate, and an affineur who is the first Dutch Maître Fromager. The thick fort walls keep the cellars cool and damp on their own.
The story
Who's behind it
Kaasfort Amsterdam is the work of René Koelman, the first Dutchman to hold the title Maître Fromager. He is an affineur: he buys in young cheeses and brings them to flavour under his own hand. The business grew out of Bourgondisch Lifestyle, which Koelman started in 2001 as a wholesaler and exporter with five aging rooms and shops in Beverwijk and Amsterdam. Those two shops still carry the old name.
In November 2021 the aging moved to Fort Zuidwijkermeer in Assendelft, a fort from around 1903 that was built to defend the North Sea Canal and is part of the Stelling van Amsterdam, UNESCO World Heritage since 1996. After the war it was used as army ammunition storage, later as a film depot for Eye. It was renovated into an aging facility together with Landschap Noord-Holland.
Aging in the fort
The fort's walls are so thick that the temperature stays low and stable and the humidity high. Koelman uses nine separate cellars, each with its own climate control, so a white mould cheese and a raw milk hard cheese each have a cellar of their own. Together around three hundred cheeses are aging, split into five families: goat and sheep, white mould and creamy, semi-hard and hard, red mould and blue mould.
He ages in small batches and decides per cheese when it comes out. So the same cheese eats differently in March than in July. Koelman supplies restaurants and cheese shops in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and exports as far as Japan and France.
In your kitchen
You're buying cheese brought to flavour at a specific moment. At the table you can tell guests about a fort from the Stelling van Amsterdam, nine cellars and an affineur with a French title. Build a board from the five families and the guest tastes the whole approach in one course.
Practical: call about the aging status when you order, because it shifts. If you want cheese knowledge in your team, Kaasfort also runs courses, from Kaaskenner and Kaasspecialist to Fromager. Handy if you want your sommelier or host to present the cheese trolley with authority.
Chef’s tip
Ask about the aging status of the cheese when you order. Koelman ages in small batches, so a Comté or a blue cheese can shift week to week. Order at the peak that fits your dish and take the cheese out of the cooler an hour before service.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Blue cheese with pear and walnut
Bleu de Gex or Shropshire Blue at room temperature, poached pear, toasted walnut. The salt tang of the blue against the sweet.
Warm goat cheese with ash
Selles-sur-Cher or Chèvre d'Ardenne briefly under the salamander, on toasted sourdough, with thyme honey. The charcoal layer holds the shape.
Cheese board from five families
One cheese per aging family, built from fresh to mature. Your guest tastes all five families of the fort.
Vacherin with truffle as closer
Vacherin aux Truffes brought to spoon-soft, with knäckebröd and a glass of white Burgundy.
For your menu
“Aged in the fort by Kaasfort Amsterdam, Fort Zuidwijkermeer (Stelling van Amsterdam)”
Products from Kaasfort Amsterdam
What we carry from this maker
Blaue Kornblume
Bleu de Gex
Bouyguette au Romarin
Briquette de Chevre Domino
Cashel blue
Prices and availability are in the portal. Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels and taste it for yourself.