Beecher's Handmade Cheese

The story of this cheese company is one of an Italian family that has made its way in the world of American cheeses and also resuscitated a specialty of Puglia: burrata. Mimmo Bruno, originally from the Puglia region of Italy, is the national sales manager for Bel Gioso, a Wisconsin based company that produces and distributes Italian style cheeses. A couple years ago, Bruno decided to start a company dedicated to this specific cheese at the urging of chef’s in the Los Angeles area. The company, started in 2009, is named after his son Stefano and located in eastern LA. DiStefano sources milk from dairies in the Southern California region for their mozzarella curd. Burrata is a luscious purse of mozzarella filled with shredded curd and cream but the one made by the Brunos is unique in that its taste is closer to that of burrata found in Puglia. The reason for this is that DiStefanos mixes their shredded curds, also known as stracciatella, with a special cream called Panna that they import from Italy. This carefully crafted filling has won the company numerous first place awards at the American Cheese Society not to mention the accolades of diners and chefs around the U.S.