From Principal to Cheesemaker: Helena’s Journey to Her Own Artisan Dairy

For Helena Hallerhed, cooking has always been an important part of life. But it wasn’t until four years ago that she decided to fully invest in her lifelong passion – cheese. Today, she runs Sörgårdens Dairy at her home farm in Hasslerör, between Mariestad and Töreboda.

“The milk is the key! I collect my milk from Assmundstorp farm a couple of kilometres away, and it’s an excellent raw ingredient.”

In addition to making cheese, Helena also holds popular cheese tastings and sells her products in a small farm shop. She is also part of a newly launched project – Äkta mathantverk Norra Skaraborg – whose purpose is to increase awareness of local producers.

“When I first opened my little shop, people often asked about other producers in the area, and I have to admit I didn’t know very much. But when I started looking, it turned out there are lots of food producers nearby! Now we’ve started a project to make ourselves more visible so more people can find us. Interest in local food is growing all the time, and the more of us who work together, the more fun it gets!”

The principal who became a cheesemaker

But let’s start from the beginning, because Helena hasn’t always worked with what she does today. For 30 years she was first a teacher, then a principal. Cooking was a hobby alongside her regular job. But then she met an old friend who completely changed her way of looking at life.

“I was at a reunion with a group I’d studied with and talked to a friend who said he had saved up some money and wasn’t working – he was just doing what he felt like doing. I had never thought that was even possible, but suddenly I felt that I wanted to do that too. Not quit working entirely, but work with something I really, truly enjoy.”

Helena talked to her family about her idea of resigning. The family would have to manage with less income while she built up her own business. Were they on board with her plans? The answer was quick and clear: Go for it!

“The next step was talking to Leader Nordvästra Skaraborg, and that turned out to be a very positive meeting. They made me believe that my ideas could become more than just a fantasy. When I had both them and my family behind me, I just thought: I’m really going to do this!”

That she wanted to work with food was obvious, but beyond that she wasn’t sure. During a few days of vacation, she took a course to become a certified fromager at the Restaurant Academy in Stockholm. A study visit during that course was to a small dairy. That’s where Helena found what she had been looking for.

“The people who ran the dairy said, ‘Do you live on a farm? Then just get started!’”

She applied for support from Leader and had the costs of training in artisan dairy production at Eldrimner in Östersund covered. Eldrimner is Sweden’s national resource center for artisanal food production and operates on behalf of the government.

“That was the first course at Eldrimner, but definitely not the last!It is an invaluable source of help and knowledge for anyone who wants to work with artisan food.”

Good at finding solutions

Once Helena had made up her mind, she created a plan. She gave herself five years to get her new business up and running and start making a profit. Today, her dairy has been open for nearly four years. The business is still evolving, but her goal – running her own company where she gets to do what she loves and make a living from it – has been achieved.

So, what are her tips for those who want to make their own dream come true?

“Unless you happen to have unlimited resources, you have to be good at finding solutions, no matter what industry you’re in. A dairy requires a lot of money, but if I had bought everything various experts suggested over the years, it wouldn’t have been possible. You have to think about whether what others suggest is reasonable – or whether you can come up with a better solution yourself.”

“And you need a realistic plan. You can’t expect to start earning money right away or for everything to go smoothly. You need room to make a few mistakes along the way!”

This text has been translated with the help of AI.