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Local farm’s ‘kids’ behind award-winning cheese

When you go to the farmer's market at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornings, you'll probably meet Michael Koch and Pablo Solanet of Firefly Farms, producers of locally made goat cheeses. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
When you go to the farmer’s market at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornings, you’ll probably meet Michael Koch and Pablo Solanet of Firefly Farms, producers of locally made goat cheeses. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
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When you go to the farmer's market at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornings, you'll probably meet Michael Koch and Pablo Solanet of Firefly Farms, producers of locally made goat cheeses. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
You don't have to take their word for the quality of their cheeses. Mike and Pablo offer tastes of their cheeses at the Fresh Farms market at Dupont Circle each Sunday. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
Mike Koch is now Executive Director of Fresh Farm Markets. The Dupont Circle farmer's market is year-round, so his Firefly Farms winter cap comes in handy.
 (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
Pablo Solanet is not only Mike's partner at Firefly Farms, he's Mike's life-partner. The two are married and have turned their mutual love of food and farming into an enterprise that allows them to share their passions for eating well and boosting small businesses.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
Pictured here is Merry Goat Round Cheese, one of the first cheeses Firefly Farms produced. It's their biggest seller among the aged cheeses and is a multiple medal winner (10 awards nationally and internationally). (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
Merry Goat Round Cheese: This is the package you'll bring home when you buy from their shop in Garrett County, or at one of the many retailers who stock it now. Large chains like Whole Foods stock their cheeses, as do local specialty shops like Cheesetique in Alexandria and Dawson's Market in Rockville. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
So where does that goat cheese come from? Why, happy goats of course! Kevin Yutzy's farm just outside of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, is home to about 100 goats that produce the milk for Firefly Farms. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)

WASHINGTON — Maybe you’ve visited a farmers market and enjoyed the freshness of the food: apples that are crisp, not mealy, eggs with golden yolks that scramble into a fluffy delight … But who’s behind that produce?

Putting a face to the farm is part of what Mike Koch likes to do. He’s the executive director at Fresh Farm Markets that operates farmers markets from Dupont Circle to St. Michaels, Maryland. Koch wants everyone to enjoy the bounty of the farmers’ labors, and loves putting the spotlight on the small businesses that sprout from farm operations.

Koch has a real appreciation for the farmers at the markets he administers; he’s a producer himself. Koch and his business partner Pablo Solanet, a former chef, started experimenting with cheese-making after buying property in Garrett County. A neighbor had some goats, they asked if they could milk them, and Firefly Farms was born.

By 2002, they had an award-winning cheese called “Merry Goat Round,” and expanded from testing cheeses in their kitchen to a full-blown farm operation. Now, the two — who have since married — buy their goat’s milk from Kevin Yutzy, a farmer in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, and operate the Firefly Farms Creamery and Market in Accident, Maryland.

The shop offers the full line of Firefly Farms’ cheeses and spotlights other locally grown and produced foods and wines. There are wine tastings at the market, where customers can explore what foods and wines pair best with their favorite cheese. And the store, on the main street of Accident, offers a window on the process of cheese-making — literally. There are windows that allow customers to see the process from when the curds are separated from the whey, to how each variety of cheese is packed and aged.

Looking for recipes for your upcoming Thanksgiving Day feast? Firefly Farms has some ideas — click here to learn more.

Kate Ryan

As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.

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