Crooked Face Creamery

Amy Rowbottom Finds Her Place | December 2019
By Maria Landry

Growing up on a dairy farm in Norridgewock, Amy Rowbottom learned from her parents that you could do something you loved and believed in if you were willing to work hard every day.

“I didn’t realize how important it was until I left and went out in the working world and saw the world functioning in a different way,” she said. “Then I thought, ‘Wow, how I grew up was pretty special.’”

She came back to central Maine to farm and started making cheese on the side when she had time.

“I have such a strong connection to agriculture,” she said, “but for a long time, I didn’t really know where my place was. On the farm when I was a kid, I was kind of in the way. But once I started making cheese, it felt like exactly where I should be. It’s really enjoyable to take this raw, beautiful product and turn it into something.”

She knew she wanted to concentrate her energy on cheese and make it her career. After being involved in cheesemaking for 10 years and focusing on it full-time for five, this year she moved her company, Crooked Face Creamery, into a larger facility. Located in the Somerset Grist Mill  at 42 Court Street, the downtown space will give her room to grow her business.

“It was definitely part of my vision to see this growth, especially when I came out with my smoked ricotta,” she said. “That product, I felt, was a real niche product that had the potential to sell out of state and into some specialty markets. Once I started to see the uptick in sales, then I was really jazzed and motivated. It gave me the confidence to say, I want to take this to the next step—and I have the sales behind me to prove it.”

Her new space was intended to increase capacity for wholesale production, but Rowbottom has been pleasantly surprised by the number of retail sales she’s experienced as well.

“I’m overwhelmed with the amount of walk-through traffic I’ve been getting,” she said. “That’s really exciting, and it makes me want to put more energy into the storefront. It also has made me re-evaluate my production plan because I’m selling more direct out of the door than I expected.”

It’s a balancing act, as Rowbottom is also pursuing some larger markets for her smoked ricotta, including Whole Foods and the local Hannaford program. There is a distributor out of Boston interested in carrying the smoked ricotta as well. These markets “could be a game changer,” she noted.

It’s a lot for just one person to manage, so Rowbottom is slowly growing her team. Her partner, Michael Spurrier, has started helping her part time, and Joelle Wightman will assist with bookkeeping a few hours a week.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get this off the ground without Mike,” Rowbottom said. “And Joelle—she’s doing all the bookkeeping for the businesses [in the grist mill].” Rowbottom added that Amber Lambke—president of Maine Grains, which is also in the grist mill—has been a godsend in answering questions and providing resources.

“I feel like I’m in this very supportive community,” Rowbottom said. “The Maine Grains staff pops in to ask how I’m doing. They helped me unload all my equipment from the freight companies. I just feel like I’m in such a good place and surrounded by so many supportive people.”

While the smoked ricotta keeps the cash flowing, Rowbottom also makes herbed ricotta and Gouda. This summer she unveiled a washed-rind raclette, a semi-hard cheese.

“I’ve been washing it with different local ciders and craft beers,” she noted. “It’s really fun to work with people in similar industries and then co-market. My latest batch for the holidays is washed with Cayford’s Hard Cider.”

Whether she’s crafting a big batch of her smoked ricotta or trying something new, Rowbottom says she loves making a product with her own hands and seeing people enjoy it.

“At the end of the day, after selling cheese and talking to customers and seeing their reaction, it lifts me up, no matter what kind of day I’ve had. It just feels right.”

Learn more about Crooked Face Creamery on their Facebook page and website.