Maker · Cheese
Renkema Cheese
A cheese specialist who doesn't store cheese but guides it. Temperature, humidity, and time determine at Renkema when a cheese is at its peak. Plus their own nut roastery, so fresh nuts instead of factory mix.
The story
Who stands behind it
Piet and Annie Renkema started their cheese shop in 1987 in Amersfoort. Piet now runs the shop on the Leusderweg together with son Pieter. Around 2017, they exited the franchise format they operated under and continued under their own name, after thirty years in the business.
That choice was rewarded. In 2018, the Food Specialties Expertise Center named Renkema the best foreign cheese specialist in the Netherlands. In 2024 came the title Dutch Best Cheese Specialty Shop and the Golden Cheese Knife. In 2026, the shop was again finalist in two categories.
What truly sets it apart
The difference lies in the aging. At Renkema, cheese is not simply stored until sold. It is guided. Temperature, humidity, and time together determine how a cheese develops, and they follow that per batch. Dutch farmhouse cheeses they pick directly from farmers, European cheeses they let ripen further at their own aging locations until they reach their peak.
Plus their own nut roastery. The nuts are roasted fresh rather than purchased ready-made, whether it's the spiced Marcona almonds or the luxury nut mix. For you as a chef, that means a supplier who can tell you how far a cheese is and when you best cut it. No guessing, but a cheese that works on the day you serve it.
The assortment ranges from young and aged Dutch farmhouse cheese to blue cheese, goat and sheep cheese, and Italian hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Moliterno. Cheese and nuts come from the same hand, so a cheese board is complete in one go.
How to set yourself apart with this
Put on your menu which cheese you use and where it comes from. A guest prefers to read Bastiaanse Blue from Molenschot rather than just blue cheese. Build a cheese course with an ascending sequence: a creamy Brie, a peppery farmhouse cheese, and the Grutte Grize with its ash crust as a closer.
Use the fresh nuts not just for snacks but also as texture in the plate: roasted hazelnut with a goat cheese or pecan through a salad. And discuss with Renkema what's aging. That way you build a menu change around what's at its peak at that moment, instead of what happens to be in stock.
Chef’s tip
Take hard cheeses 30 to 60 minutes before service out of the cold. A peppery farmhouse cheese or Pecorino Moliterno gives much more aroma at room temperature than straight from the case. Ask Renkema per order how far a cheese is, then you cut it at the right moment.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Warm pear with Bastiaanse Blue
Organic blue cheese from Molenschot, salty and creamy. Let it just melt over roasted pear with walnut.
Pasta with Pecorino Moliterno
Aged sheep cheese, less salty than Romano but full of flavor. Thin-shaved over pasta or grated through a risotto.
Cheese board with Grutte Grize
Small cheese with a crust of activated charcoal. The ash changes the acidity and gives its own wood-ash tone on the plate.
Snack with spiced Marcona almonds
Spanish almonds with thyme, rosemary, and sea salt. Alongside a glass or with an aged cheese.
For your menu
“Blue cheese from Renkema (Amersfoort) on roasted pear with walnut”
Products from Renkema Cheese
What we carry from this maker
Amandelen gekruid
Bastiaanse Blauw
Boerderijkaas jong
Boerderijkaas pittig XL
Boerenkaas belegen
Prices and availability are in the portal. Not a customer yet? Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
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