Fifth Town Artisan Cheese has started selling Italian cheeses at its Prince Edward County retail store. The new owners have been importing cheese from Italy for decades as Bertozzi Importing of Etobicoke, Ontario.
Many of the imported cheeses—mainly from Piedmont and Lombardy—have names similar to names of the award-winning Canadian cheeses produced by Fifth Town before financial difficulties forced it to shut down in early 2012. For example:
- Cap Cressy versus the original Cape Vessey
- Counting Sheep . . . and Goats . . . vs Counting Sheep
- Fellowship Too vs Fellowship.
Patricia Secord and Dr. Hugo Bertozzi, third generation producers, affineurs and purveyors of artisan cheeses, historically in Italy, and now in Canada, purchased Fifth Town Artisan Cheese in November 2012. The transition period between shutdown and start-up is a long process, the company said, but will ultimately lead to a refurbished manufacturing facility and world-class cheese. The cheese dairy is set to be producing Fifth Town favourites, like Cape Vessey, by early 2014.
In other developments at Fifth Town, it has restarted its cheese blog.
