Maker Β· Cheese
Renkema Cheese
A cheese specialist that actively ripens its cheese. At Renkema, temperature, humidity and time decide when a cheese is ready. They also run their own nut roastery for freshly roasted nuts.
The story
Who's behind it
Piet and Annie Renkema opened their cheese shop in Amersfoort in 1987. Around 2017, after thirty years in the trade, they left the franchise they belonged to and carried on under their own name. Their son Wouter now runs the shop on the Leusderweg. Piet and Annie are still there regularly.
In 2018 the Vakcentrum Foodspecialiteiten named Renkema the best foreign cheese specialist in the Netherlands. In 2024 came the title Best Cheese Specialty Shop in the Netherlands and the Golden Cheese Knife. In 2026 the shop was a finalist again in two categories.
Ripening and nuts
At Renkema, cheese is looked after until it's ready. Temperature, humidity and time together decide how a cheese develops, and they track that batch by batch. Dutch farmhouse cheeses come straight from the farmers, and European cheeses ripen further at their own aging locations until they're at their best.
They also have their own nut roastery. The nuts are roasted fresh, from the spiced Marcona almonds to the luxury nut mix. Renkema can tell you how far along a cheese is and when to cut it.
The range runs from young and aged Dutch farmhouse cheese to blue, goat and sheep cheese and Italian hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Moliterno. Cheese and nuts come from the same supplier, so a cheese board is complete in one order.
In your kitchen
Put on your menu which cheese you use and where it comes from, for example Bastiaanse Blue from Molenschot. Build a cheese course that rises in intensity: a creamy brie, a sharp farmhouse cheese and the Grutte Grize with its ash crust to finish.
Use the fresh nuts as texture on the plate too: roasted hazelnut with a goat cheese or pecan through a salad. Talk to Renkema about what's ripening, and plan your menu changes around what's ready at that moment.
Chefβs 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 along a cheese is, so 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, with a full 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
βBlue cheese from Renkema (Amersfoort) on roasted pear with walnutβ
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. 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.