Wholesome and natural are its bywords

By Colleen Gundlach
In Greek mythology, Arethusa was a nymph whom the goddess Artemis transformed into a spring to save her virginity when she was being pursued by the river god Alpheus. It is an apt name, then, for Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, because the land it is built upon is acreage saved from the hands of developers when they were pursuing it for development of condos.

New York City businessmen George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis saw the beauty of the old dairy farm that occupied the Webster Road property in Litchfield. In 1996, despite their lack of knowledge of cows or dairy operation, the pair purchased the land, and Arethusa Farm was born.

Malkemus and Yurgaitis had no lack of business acumen, though, being the president and vice president, respectively, of Manolo Blahnik, USA. They hired a talented staff and started acquiring a herd of quality, registered Holsteins, Jerseys and Brown Swiss cows.

The herd’s care is monitored closely by the staff, from the cows’ overall condition to cleanliness, diet and feeding of fresh grass and hay. “Each cow has great characteristics,” says dairy staff member Erin Hubbard, “and we know everything that every cow ingests.” This is important to ensure the best-tasting milk products.

Even in retirement, the cows receive loving care. One of the early members of the herd, Veronica, now 14 years old, is referred to as “the Queen.” She was the 2005 Supreme Grand Champion at the World Dairy Expo, and her descendants continue to win awards. Hubbard says that Veronica is “happy with her retirement life out in the field, and she is well aware that she’s the queen.”
After several years of not using the milk they produced, Malkemus and Yurgaitis decided to open their own milk processing plant, and so they purchased the Bantam Fire House in 2010. Instead of the usual high-heat pasteurization process, Arethusa milk is processed by vat pasteurization. The milk is heated at lower temperatures, then cooled. “This kills the bad bacteria,” Hubbard says, “but leaves the good, resulting in a much fresher taste.”

The site is now a fully operating processing plant. Fresh milk from Arethusa Farm is delivered daily to be made into a full line of milks, yogurts, cheeses, sour cream and their own line of ice creams. All of the farm’s dairy products are available for purchase in the retail store, also located at the Bantam facility. There visitors can also see the processing operation firsthand.

The dairy sells milk in five-gallon bags to local schools. “The quality is amazing,” says Hubbard. “We want to be sure our children have nutritional and wholesome milk.” Milk is picked up from the farm at 6 a.m. and is delivered later the same day to schools and local stores.

Malkemus and Yurgaitis decided that a natural expansion of the dairy would be to showcase ways to use their dairy products creatively. Thus, Arethusa al Tavolo was born. This award-winning restaurant, located next to the processing plant at 828 Bantam Road (Route 202), features true farm-to-table cuisine. Arethusa al Tavolo’s chef, Dan Magill, sources fresh ingredients from local farmers and growers. The cheeses and milks, of course, are sure to be of the very freshest.

For more information about the farm or the dairy processing, visit arethusafarm.com, and for the restaurant go to arethusaaltavolo.com.

Photos by Bruce Frisch.