Veronica Steele (26 November 1947 – 4 January 2017) was a cheesemaker from

Eyeries Eyeries (historically spelt as it is pronounced, ''Irees'' or ''Iries''; ) is a village and its hinterland, on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. It lies at the foot of a hilly area, with a beach ne ...

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbe ...

Life

Steele pioneered the homegrown Irish artisan cheese industry with the introduction of

Milleens Milleens is an Irish farmhouse cheese, made on a farm on the outskirts of Eyeries, County Cork, Ireland. First made in 1976, Milleens was originally produced by Norman and Veronica Steele, and is now produced by their son. Milleens cheese m ...

cheese, which achieved national attention when it was picked up by Declan Ryan for use in the Arbutus Lodge, Cork. She was influenced by

John Ehle John Marsden Ehle, Jr. (December 13, 1925 – March 24, 2018) was an American writer known best for his fiction set in the Appalachian Mountains of the American South. He has been described as "the father of Appalachian literature". Life and c ...

. She started cheese making as a way to preserve excess milk, and develop jobs in rural areas. Steele suffered from

multiple system atrophy Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by autonomic dysfunction, tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, and postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism) and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...

later in life and retired in 2003, passing ownership of the Milleens production to her son. In 2016, she was honoured with a "Best of the Decade" ''Good Food Ireland Award''.

References

External links

The history of Milleens
milleenscheese.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Veronica 1947 births 2017 deaths Cheesemakers Irish businesspeople People from County Cork Neurological disease deaths in the Republic of Ireland Deaths from multiple system atrophy Place of death missing