In the heart of Northern Ontario, a small family-run business is making big waves in the world of artisanal cheese.
Founded by Nicole Paquin and her family, Nickel City Cheese in the Sudbury community of Chelmsford has quickly become known for its fresh, flavourful curds.
Paquin was born and raised in Quebec and had always dreamed of opening a cheese factory. After four years of preparation, Nickel City Cheese finally opened its doors in August of 2018.
The award-winning company prides itself on serving delicious cheddar cheese products, offering nearly 20 unique flavours of cheese curds.
"The reason why we got into making cheese is that Sudbury didn't have any fresh cheese curds. I'm from Quebec. I grew up with several small cheese factories around me," she said while working a booth at FedNor's Northern Ontario Pavilion at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto last year.
This year, $786,294 in FedNor funding will support the expansion of the popular Northern Ontario Agri-Food Pavilion, giving regional businesses a platform at Canada’s top indoor agricultural exhibition.
Paquin worked for the government for 15 years and saw this as a big opportunity for her and her three sons to bring the dream to life.
"My partner, Mike, constructed a building, and we went forward with the opportunity of creating a cheese factory in the North," she told BayToday.
It turned out to be a bigger struggle than she thought to get started, especially with the money angle.
"It is financially. They don't take it that very seriously when it's a woman who goes for financing for some reason. I don't know why, but it is what it is."
The company was able to get a grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, which promotes and stimulates economic development initiatives in Northern Ontario by providing financial assistance to projects that stabilize, diversify and foster economic growth in the region.
"That was a big help for us to be able to create our building, which, if a contractor had built, would have cost over a million dollars. My spouse, Mike, and my three sons built the building to create the cheese factory."
Lately, Paquin finds that the environment for female businesswomen has improved, and they are being taken more seriously with more grants available.
"It's very exciting because we get more opportunities. So it's very appreciated getting money to help get new equipment, and it's nice."
As far as the cheese goes, Paquin is proud that her product is for "babies to 100 years old."
"There's no age restriction. If you're able to eat cheese, you're able to eat our product."
What makes Nickel City Cheese stand out from competitors is the variety of flavours, almost 20 and counting, with dill being the most popular.
Jalapeño and garlic are also customer favourites. Paquin remembers that in Montreal, they have pizza, maple bon, lemon pepper, and wild whisky, plus lots of others, so she is always on the lookout for something new.
Paquin says the Northern Ontario Pavilion at the Fair has helped her build new connections, especially in distribution efforts to get her product to customers in the GTA.
At the 2024 Royal Winter Fair, Paquin entered her product in the cheese and butter competition.
"We won third place with our cheddar for zero to three months, fourth place with our marble and cheddar, also our six- to nine-month-old cheddar took fifth, and our two-year-old cheddar got fifth place as well, which was nice."
"We see word of our product now getting out, so it's just a beginning for us because we're going to be able to have more confidence in ourselves to participate in more competitions."
The sky is the limit for Nickel City Cheese, and Paquin is working on expansion plans.
"We need to do an addition because we're getting bigger and bigger each year, and we need the space.
This year's edition of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair runs from Nov. 7 to 16 in Toronto.
The Royal has grown to be the largest indoor agricultural event in the world.
Every year, 300,000 people come to the Fair to celebrate the very best food, livestock and horsemanship this country has to offer.