Ost Online: Spreading the joy of good cheese

Priding themselves on a unique selection, top-quality products, and professional service, the tight-knit team behind Ost Online are true cheese connoisseurs. With a vast amount of expertise and enthusiasm, they are committed to delivering the best of artisan cheeses across Norway.

After years of selling speciality cheeses at markets and festivals across Europe, Ost Online was launched due to customer demand. This is the Norway-focused branch of a larger business, which also operates in the UK under the moniker Dutch Cheeseman. The enthusiastic team has sold and imported cheese and other delicacies within Europe for over a decade.

Ost Online has a fantastic selection of cheeses and food products, including sausages, crackers, olives, and dips, perfect for serving alongside the cheesy delights. Customers can also purchase a variety of cheese-related tools and platters, such as speciality cheese knives, graters, and serving boards. The brand offers a variety of cheeses from across Europe, including a varied range of versatile spiced cheeses, the most popular of which are chilli, pesto, olive, and tomato and oregano.

Ost Online is known for its competitive prices. Many cheese lovers in Norway appreciate the reasonable pricing since the cost of imported goods tends to be high. “We work hard to keep prices low while maintaining excellent quality,” Martin says. The delicious cheeses are delivered in cooling bags to ensure top-notch quality.

A question of taste

Ost Online’s irresistible cheeses are produced with passion and care according to traditions that have stood the test of time. Among the most popular cheeses are the bestseller creamy Gouda and the flavourful Old Dutch, which both hail from the town of Bleskensgraaf in South Holland. Made from special recipes, the cheeses are placed on wooden shelves in a dedicated cheese warehouse and aged for the appropriate amount of time for each variety.

“There’s a huge difference between properly aged cheeses and factory-produced cheeses. Factory cheeses are produced over a short period of time, while our cheeses are stored and aged according to cheesemaking traditions,” cheese expert Sil Martin explains. “It makes all the difference. A well-made cheese has its own unique history – a lot of work goes into creating a good cheese and honouring the established process for producing it.”

The team has a deep appreciation for the long-standing traditions and methods of cheesemaking, and respecting the designated origins of specific cheeses is important. “There is only one Gouda, which is the authentic Gouda cheese produced in the Dutch city of Gouda. The same goes for Parmesan, which can only come from the two Italian areas that produce it, and Manchego, which comes from the La Mancha region in Spain,” Martin explains. “You can try to recreate a cheese, but it will be a clone that will never be able to match the original taste. You simply can’t compare a reproduction to the real creamy Gouda of the Netherlands. A lot of people have a wow moment when they taste our cheese.”

The art of a well-crafted cheese board

The Ost Online team loves to spread joy, enthusiasm, and knowledge around cheese. The brand’s blog features fantastic cheese-based recipes as well as tips for creating the perfect cheese board. “My top tip for putting together a great cheese board is diversity – be sure to feature several cheeses so there’s something for everyone. Some fruits or vegetables are a must, as well as a tasty dip,” says Ost Online’s general manager, Jessica Godtschalk.

According to Jessica and Martin, there is no better Christmas gift than a high-quality cheese. The popular gift sets are bestsellers every year. With a range of options featuring different combinations of cheese, crackers, sausages, dips and beautifully designed wooden serving boards perfect for displaying the selection of treats, there is truly something for every palate.

“We sell a lot of gift sets during the Christmas season. People like to give them away as presents, but they also buy them as a special treat to enjoy at home,” Jessica says. “They’re also sought-after for other special occasions throughout the year, such as birthdays and anniversaries.”

“For people who have everything, gifts you can savour are an excellent option. We think of it as giving somebody an experience, not just a gift. Sharing good food is a wonderful opportunity to get together and enjoy quality time with loved ones,” Martin says. “Our gift packs are super popular – in the run-up to Christmas, it can be hard to keep up with the demand!”

Eagerly awaiting the holiday season

Dutch Cheeseman has two physical shops where its products can be found. Located in the charming town of Ålesund on the west coast of Norway, Delicatessen Løvenvold has a varied selection of cheese and other delicacies from around the world. Delicatessen Shop Galleriet in Bergen, in the heart of Fjord Norway, offers high-quality food products from across Europe with a special focus on authentic Italian delicacies.

While the online and physical shops are thriving, a key focus for Ost Online and Dutch Cheeseman remains to display products at food festivals and markets across Norway and the UK. The Christmas season is a highlight of the year for the cheese merchants. “We have a lot of returning customers who love our cheese and look forward to seeing us at the markets every year. It’s wonderful to get to know people, share the joy of cheese, and build connections across cultures. We have a fantastic team, but we also have incredible customers,” Martin adds.

This year, the team is looking forward to attending three Christmas markets; Bergen’s Christmas market, known as one of the country’s most-loved holiday markets, in the beautiful city of Tromsø, where the Arctic climate and Northern Lights make the festive season magical, and in Egersund, which has twice been named Norway’s best Christmas city. Alongside the speciality Dutch cheeses, Tallegio and Pecorino, a range of other cheeses will be on offer alongside cured meats from Norway, Italy and France, as well as Christmas presents in all sizes and price ranges.

Get a 15 per cent discount on Ost Online orders using the discount code “SCAN”

Web: ostonline.no
Facebook: Dutch Cheeseman
Instagram: @ost_online.no