Patricia Martín is Quality Manager at Quesería La Antigua. He has been part of this family for 17 years, and since then, a lot has changed.
We take a look back through Patricia’s eyes to get to know her a little better and remember with nostalgia how she arrived and how her beginnings in Quesería La Antigua were.
How did you come to Quesería La Antigua?
After finishing my engineering degree in Zamora I continued my training with a master’s degree in Valladolid with which I had the option to do an internship in Cobadú. My master’s degree director knew Jesús and Fernando, who had just opened the cheese factory in Fuentesaúco, and contacted them so that I could continue my internship.
And what were those beginnings like?
Ugh, nothing to do with now. I always remember the number of molds I washed! When I started there were only 4 people working, Manuel in reception and Javi, Angel and Tere in the factory. At that time the physical work was very great. Everything was made by hand, washed by hand and manufactured by hand. Another girl and I who did the internship with me scrubbed every afternoon with Tere. That’s how I started.
And from there, to the quality department?
The truth is that I have done everything in the company as it is normal when it is small and there is little staff. I have done the first of everything: I did the first “Educas”, I went with Fernando to the first cheese tables (super pregnant), I went to the first craft fairs…
Regarding quality, I remember that in 2007 we were the first to obtain the two certifications, BRC “British Retail Consortium” and IFS “International Food Standard”. There were other dairies, but only we achieved both certifications that year. And from then on we have been adapting every year to the requirements that have been demanded of us.
What is your day-to-day life like in the factory?
I spend most of my time downstairs in the factory, because I believe that if you don’t see, you don’t know, so I like to keep an eye on the guys’ work. It’s true that my day-to-day life doesn’t leave me much time to sit in front of the computer, so I prefer to dedicate myself to my office work in the afternoon.
And once you get home… Is it forbidden to talk about cheese?
Yes, it is forbidden (laughs), otherwise we would go crazy. Ángel, my husband, also works here, so we are not the kind of people who, at the end of the workday, tell each other how work went. At home we talk about everything but work.
Did you imagine yourself working here when you finished your degree?
Not really. I was going to work in another cheese factory (I don’t know if you can say brands, so just in case I’ll tell you about it when I finish the interview). At home they wanted me to take the competitive exams, but I didn’t listen to them, but I did think that when I finished my internship here I would go to that other cheese company. And I’ve been doing it for 15 years now.
Do you remember the first fabrications?
Yes, the first cheese making processes have nothing to do with what we make now. When I started, 4,000 liters were produced, now there are 27,000. The vats were open, they had to be scrubbed with a scouring pad and the molds were different and there is no mold washer, everything, as I said before, had to be done by hand. If I remember correctly, I did batch 120 and Fernando started with me, although I had already done manufacturing because my final year project was about cheese manufacturing. At the end of the internship we did a course in Santander. Fernando wanted to try everything, we did a lot of crazy things to try new things.
Of all the varieties of cheese in Quesería La Antigua, which is the longest-lived?
The first thing that began to be produced outside the traditional cheese was butter and rosemary cheese because there were customers in Andalusia who were looking for this cheese that they had bought from other manufacturers. Later, others were added, such as paprika, pepper… tempranillo came later and the specialties were added much later.
Do you have fond memories of the beginnings of the Cheese Factory?
Yes, I remember many things with nostalgia, we went to all the fairs, they were different fairs, we had almost no staff and we relied on relatives and friends to help us. The designs for catalogs and promotions were made by us, it is not like now that we have professional designers, we spent hours making the photos and texts.
I have such good memories that my children were almost born in the factory.
Right? Tell me about it
In the first pregnancy I worked until the last day, so much so that my water broke here in the factory, so I had to run to Salamanca and my daughter was born the next day.
And the second one, for fear of repeating history, the last week I stayed at home, and thank goodness it was like that, otherwise I would have been born on the way because we didn’t have time for anything. So they have lived in the belly the super stress that was there before and more in the spring season in which they were born when we had more fabrications.
On this 20th anniversary of Quesería La Antigua, what would you like to wish them?
I have seen the good work and the good treatment that the partners have always had, so much so that many people have always believed that Jesus and Fernando were brothers. Now I would like that “good vibes” to continue with their children and that they know how to maintain the good treatment they have always had, among themselves and with people, of course.
