Family Cheese creamery, Dubove

Family Cheese is a family creamery in the small town of Dubove in the Tiachiv area, in the picturesque Teresva valley. Its story is typical of Zakarpattia's new wave of craft producers: owner Svitlana Lespukh is a nurse by training and took up cheesemaking while on maternity leave, when her husband Mykola suggested giving it a try. The first wheels were made for themselves and the family, the couple learned through online courses, and when friends kept ordering more and more, the hobby grew into a business that the regional tourism department now lists in its catalogue of Zakarpattia craft producers.

Why look for Family Cheese

This is first and foremost a production business rather than a visitor farm: sources do not confirm tours or tastings on site. Yet small family creameries like this one show best how Zakarpattia's food scene is changing: next to the mountain-pasture brynza, Italian and Caucasian cheeses made from local milk are appearing. Cheese is ordered via Instagram or by phone and sent by post with cash on delivery, so you can try it without travelling. If you are in Dubove or driving up the Teresva valley towards Ust-Chorna, call ahead — you may be able to arrange to collect your order in person.

When ordering by post, ask which varieties have just matured and request a tasting selection: it is the easiest way to find out what you like best — delicate burrata, springy suluguni or aged caciocavallo. Fresh soft cheeses should be eaten within a few days, while aged ones keep well in the fridge wrapped in baking paper.

What to try and buy

At first the creamery made only caciotta; over time the range grew to around fifteen varieties:

• Italian caciotta, caciocavallo and canestrato — from young to aged;
• suluguni, halloumi, mozzarella and burrata — for salads, the grill and pizza;
• marinated cheeses and a smoked braided «kosychka» with real woodsmoke;
• aged cheeses with a natural rind that forms during ripening, without latex or film.

The farm's hallmark is milk from Jersey cows, one of the richest-milk breeds, so the cheeses come out full-flavoured, creamy and a lovely yellowish colour. In the Tiachiv area, where cows and sheep have long been kept on mountain pastures, this is a modern continuation of an old tradition: home-made cheese was always the basis of the everyday table here, and now it is also a reason for a food trip.

Practical information

• Where: Dubove, Tiachiv district, Zakarpattia region; check the exact address and whether you can collect cheese by phone.
• Contacts: tel. +38 068 531 06 59, Instagram @family_cheese25 (active, with new posts in 2026).
• Prices: for example, the smoked «kosychka» cost about UAH 100 per 100 g in 2026; ask the creamery for the current price list.
• Getting there: Dubove lies on the road from Tiachiv to Ust-Chorna, about 37 km from Tiachiv. Buses run to Tiachiv from Uzhhorod, Mukachevo and Khust; the nearest railway station with long-distance trains is Teresva, then take a local bus up the Teresva valley or drive.

Website and social media: instagram.com

Photos: instagram.com.