Fromages Spielhofer SA, cheese producer and distributor from Saint-Imier
We are a family company with about 85 staff which is now run by second-generation managers, Cédric and Florian Spielhofer. Our work is characterised by tradition, passion, craftsmanship and closeness to nature. As manufacturer and a significant handler of Tête de Moine, we deliver across Switzerland as well as making significant exports.
Portrait
We produce the highest quality natural products. All our cheeses, as well as our mountain butter, are made from silage-free raw mountain milk. The “affinage”, i.e. the refinement and maturation, takes place in our own cellars. We are one of only seven cheese dairies authorised to produce the legendary Tête de Moine. Plus over 20 other semi-soft, hard and soft cheeses.
Many awards and distinctions show just how much we care about quality, in particular from the Swiss Cheese Awards but also at the Mondial du Fromage in Tours, France.
Spielhofer is certified according to ISO standard IFS Food, FSSC 22000, the Swiss Federal Mountain and Alpine Ordinance and is certified as organic.
Philosophy
Spielhofer is anchored in the region and has friendly relationships not only with its own staff but also with the suppliers who are exclusively farmers with close-to-nature production methods. We represent the highest quality processing. We use traditional processes, implemented using modern tools. We guarantee top quality, from the cows’ feed to the end product. Checks are carried out daily, at each stage of production through to the sales process. In particular, we apply the strictest hygiene provisions.
Our craftsmanship
Excellent cheeses can only be produced using perfect milk. And our 70 suppliers are the very embodiment of this quality. They are local farmers who work close to nature between 700 and 1200 metres above sea level and who are like family to us. Each day, we collect the milk from the previous evening and early morning milking and process it within a few hours. Daily checks guarantee impeccable quality.
Manufacturing cheese is a matter of experience and tradition. While we use the latest production tools today, the stages of production are still exactly the same: high-quality raw milk is standardised and then rennet is added followed by a bacterial culture; the mass is carefully heated, stirred and sliced until it is grainy; then it is pressed, matured in brine, then stored in the cellar… No colouring agents or preservatives are added and, of course, the strictest hygiene standards are observed: Spielhofer is certified according to ISO standards FSSC and IFS.
Cheese production
Each day, two milk trucks collect the milk from about 70 milk producers all across the Jura hills and deliver it to the dairy. About 50,000 litres of fresh milk are processed daily. Besides the 26 varieties of cheese, we also produce mountain butter. The products are also stored and packed directly on site in
St-Imier.
All our products are manufactured naturally.
- Without artificial colouring agents
- Without artificial preservatives
- Without artificial flavours
- No use of natamycin (anti-fungus agent) as a preservative
- No use of genetically engineered rennet
Learn more about Fromages Spielhofer SA
In addition to the legendary Tête de Moine, the second-generation family business Fromages Spielhofer SA offers over 20 semi-hard, hard and soft cheeses. With tradition and passion, they work with regional suppliers to ensure the quality of their products.
Time is happiness, happiness is L’Horloger.
A cheese that combines tradition, quality and taste into a pleasure experience in which time stands still.
More about L’Horloger