Dobri Gazdy Cheese Dairy, Mykhailivka

Dobri Gazdy cheese dairy in the village of Mykhailivka is one of the best-known food stops in Bukovyna and a fine example of how a community can breathe new life into a village. This small cheese cooperative works in the Hlyboka area, about 20 km south of Chernivtsi, and is happy to receive visitors: you can watch cheese being made, peek into the ageing room and taste the cheese right where it is produced.

From an abandoned bathhouse to a dairy

The idea grew out of the village's own past: the Hlyboka area has long had cattle-keeping and milk-processing associations, and in summer locals struggled to sell surplus milk. After the Hlyboka community was formed, local farmers set up a cooperative, trained for several months and, with support from an international economic development programme and community funds, fitted out a dairy in the village's former bathhouse. Today more than thirty residents of Mykhailivka and neighbouring villages co-own it. Every morning they bring fresh cow and goat milk, which is tested for fat and acidity before it is decided what goes into hard cheese and what into fermented dairy products.

The cheeses

The range is built around three European recipes given Bukovynian names: Italian caciotta, Dutch gouda and Austrian bergkäse. Some cheeses come with sunflower seeds, fenugreek, nuts or basil. Besides hard and semi-hard cheeses, the cooperative makes butter, yoghurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and its signature smoked budz. Local media report output of about a tonne a month.

Tour and tasting

• Tasting room overlooking the workshop — watch through the glass as milk becomes cheese.
• Ageing room — shelves of cheese wheels matured from a few months up to two years.
• Tasting — young cheeses (about three months) and aged ones (one to two years), plain and flavoured.
• Shopping — cheese and dairy products are sold on site.

The dairy is popular with school groups and organised tours from Chernivtsi; local itineraries often pair it with an apiary and a tropical greenhouse in the neighbouring village of Kamiana. For families and small groups it makes a calm, educational and tasty half-day stop.

Practical information

• Address: Mykhailivka village, Hlyboka community, Chernivtsi district.
• Hours: 9:00–16:30 (per the Chernivtsi tourist portal).
• Booking phone: +38 097 198 23 62.
• Facebook: facebook.com/dobrigazdy.

Official sources do not list the tour price, so ask by phone in advance. Groups should book ahead, and independent travellers are advised to call before the trip to catch cheese-making in progress.

Please confirm by phone before your trip.

Getting there

Mykhailivka lies between Chernivtsi and Hlyboka, close to the Chernivtsi — Hlyboka — Romanian border road. By car it takes about half an hour from Chernivtsi. By public transport, take a suburban bus towards Hlyboka and continue on foot or by taxi.

Website and social media: facebook.com

Photos: travel.chernivtsi.ua.