Mikayelyan Family Farm

October 14, 2024

The Mikayelyan family produces Armenian parmesan called Armezan, cheeses aged with wine and brandy for 3.5 years in the Gavar community. In 2012, the Mikayelyan family decided to move from Yerevan to Gavar to start their own business—cheese production. It all began began with the fermentation of an idea has since matured into a successful enterprise.

“The idea evolved over the years. We had been considering cheese production for at least three years,” says Arman Mikayelyan. “None of us were originally involved in agriculture. My parents are engineers, I’m an economist, my wife Marine is a biochemist, and her second profession is floristry. But cheese production became a necessity. During the summer, milk would spoil, so we needed products that could last through the winter. That’s when we started making our first traditional cheeses.”

The Mikayelyan Family Farm has a dedicated cheese cellar that attracts around 5,000 tourists annually. This facility was built with the support of the UNDP’s “Integrated Rural Tourism Development” program. In 2024, the world-famous VOGUE mentioned Mariam Mikayelyan in an article about an Armenian female chef. The development of the Mikayelyan Family Farm, which opened in 2021, has been significant. Visitors can experience a unique cheese, the original Armenian “khamon.”

“With the help of UNDP, we built our cheese factory from scratch. For us, it was a dream come true to have a cheese cellar with a separate tasting room. Before learning about the program, we thought our vision was at least 10-15 years away. But the program appeared and helped us realize our dream much sooner,” says Marine Mikayelyan.

“The UNDP ‘Integrated Rural Tourism Development’ program came at just the right time for us. In addition to financial support, it also provided various training sessions with expert professionals. Without this support, it would have been impossible to achieve such great results.”

In the Mikayelyan family business, responsibilities are clearly divided: Marine oversees the workshop and staff organization, while her husband, Arman, manages suppliers and business partners. The family employs six people, and there are two tour guides in Gavar who explain the cheese-making process to tourists. “We don’t hire strangers,” Arman emphasizes. “All our employees are friends or relatives.”

Marine jokes about their family business: "My husband and I are very different in many ways, but we balance each other out. If I decide to do something, I either do it very well or not at all. If you love your work, you have to be fully committed. I once worked in the cellar with a fever of 39°C because I couldn’t let the cheese spoil," she explains. "If I had known how complex and delicate the cheese-making business is, I might not have agreed to start it. I had to learn everything from scratch, just like a first grader."

No preservatives are used in the Mikayelyans' cheese production. Marine and Arman take pride in the fact that their cheeses contain no additives. "We focus on the authentic taste and aroma of the product," they say. The names of the cheeses are also significant, often inspired by special guests or their suggestions. For instance, "Narek" cheese was named in honor of the Leader of the Armenian Diocese of Lebanon, who recommended naming it after Grigor Narekatsi. "Maria" cheese has its own unique story. During one of Marine's experiments, she accidentally made a crumbly cheese that didn’t turn out as expected. Yet, it became a hit among guests and one of their best sellers. "Since it was a dry and stubborn cheese, just like me," she laughs, "we decided to name it after me—Marine." Today, the Mikayelyan Family Farm produces 10 types of cheese. The family emphasizes that maintaining high quality is their top priority, which is why they are not interested in entering large, mass markets. Each cheese's production process is developed from scratch, and they experiment every year, introducing 1 or 2 new types annually.