VERNON, Calif. — High-quality cheese, coupled with dependable service and reasonable prices, is the focus of Masson Cheese, an Italian cheese company headquartered in Vernon, Calif.

A family-owned company that has operated in California for the past 40 years, Masson Cheese doesn't like to make a splash. Instead, says Jean Hendrix, vice president, sales and marketing, the company likes to consistently put its attention toward making, grating, shredding and dicing the best cheese possible and giving customers the personal attention they need and desire. By doing so, the company is well-known among those buying Italian cheese for foodservice and retail, she says

The company combines the basic art of cheesemaking, something that's changed little through the ages, with today's rapidly advancing technology, Hendrix says. The company operates a USDA-approved manufacturing plant and grating room and has a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program and a quality control lab on premise.

The company offers Parmesan, Romano, Provolone, Mozzarella and string cheese, most of which is domestically produced. The company also imports Pecorino Romano and other Italian-style cheeses.

Hendrix says that one of the company's "claims to fame" is that it makes its cheese with all-natural ingredients. The string cheese is made using the traditional pasta filata method, and the stringability makes it a "fun" food to eat. The cheese has a clean, milky taste, and it is a great source of calcium for kids. The colorful, whimsical packaging also gives the cheese a special appeal to children, she says.

Masson Cheese also does custom grating for food manufacturers, foodservice sizes for distributors and smaller sizes for retail stores. It packages cheese in 50-pound, 25-pound and 5-pound gas-flushed poly bags, 5-pound pure pack cartons and plastic tubs, 16-ounce canisters, 8-ounce plastic jars and 3-ounce canisters. Grated cheese, shredded cheese and Mozzarella are offered under both the Messana brand and private label.

While concentrating on both quality cheese and packaging, Masson Cheese doesn't often offer new products.

"We concentrate on a few items and make sure they're the best they can be," Hendrix says.

In addition to its facility in California, some of Masson Cheese's highest-quality cheese is produced in its plant in Wyoming, something that makes the company particularly unique since Wyoming isn't exactly known as a usual locale for cheesemaking.

Hendrix explains that the plant is in the Star Valley in Thayne, Wyo., which is 50 miles southeast of Jackson Hole, Wyo. In addition to milk produced in Star Valley, the company's location makes it possible for it to utilize the strong supply of Idaho and Utah milk that's readily available. In Thayne, the company produces 7-pound loaves of Mozzarella and 12-pound loaves of Provolone which it positions as premium-quality cheese. The cheese is produced to order, and is shipped to distributors nationally. Out of that facility, the company ships Messana, Star and Bell brands. These brands are targeted toward different areas of the country so that each region has its own regional brand, Hendrix says.

The company also operates a restaurant at the plant in Star Valley. The plant was a Swiss cheese plant until Masson Cheese bought it in 1976, and there was already a restaurant there that Masson Cheese has continued to operate. Its most famous customer is Harrison Ford, who stops in quite often when he is visiting his ranch, Hendrix says. The company also is in the midst of opening up a pizza parlor at the plant and will feature its own Italian cheeses. Star Valley Pizza will open next month.

The cheese plants are operated by Hugo Messana, executive vice president of operations. Morris Farinella is president and CEO. Hendrix says she, Farinella and Messana all strive to make themselves as accessible as possible for their customers. Hendrix herself doesn't have voice mail as she prefers customers to have the personal touch of an assistant finding her if the matter is urgent. These are the things that set the company apart, she says.

"We're quality, quality, quality. We're hands on. We're accessible," Hendrix says.

CMN