Who We Are
Cheese is our passion.
In 2012 our founder, Jessica Keahey, fell head over heels in love with cheesemaking and envisioned bringing the artisanal cheese movement to her home state. Sweet Freedom Cheese opened the first independent, cut-to-order cheese shop and education center in Northwest Arkansas in 2018 and operated until 2024. Sweet Freedom continues to partner with local businesses, colleges, schools, and other institutions to teach workshops, lectures, and classes about cheese and cheesemaking around Arkansas.
Jessica Keahey, Founder
After receiving her degrees in civil engineering, Jessica spent over a decade as a designer and project manager for environmental public works projects. Her background in science, love of good food, and curious dabbling in fermentation naturally led her to the fascinating and tasty world of cheese.
Jessica founded Sweet Freedom in 2013 and has studied extensively with cheesemakers and mongers in the US and around the globe before opening the cheese shop in 2018, the same year she was chosen as the scholarship recipient for the American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional exam and earned the CCP distinction. Jessica holds a WSET Level 3 certification with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and has also been profiled in Women Make Arkansas: Conversations with 50 and Culture Magazine.
Recently In the News: