Vashon Island teen takes love of cheese to whole new level

Less than an hour ago, she was milking her Jersey cow Lil in a cozy barn a stroll away from her family's bright, farmhouse-themed kitchen. Now her hands are immersed in a warm pot on the stove, coaxing ropes of creamy, pliant mozzarella into mounds of fresh cheese.

Kelsey Kozak, 18, is in her element: In a kitchen, surrounded by fresh ingredients, many of her own creation.

The Vashon Island teen started cooking at 5, dreamed of making her own cheese at 8 and realized that dream at 14, when her parents helped her buy her first cow, Iris.

Come fall, her fascination with food will take her to New York and the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA). In the meantime, she's teaching cheesemaking classes at home, working part time at Seattle restaurant Lark and growing 14 varieties of tomatoes in her greenhouse. And oh, yes, milking Lil twice each day.

"That's how she remembers everything when she was little — what she ate," said her mom, Linda Kozak.

More young people are taking an early interest in the culinary arts due to the rise of celebrity chefs on the Food Network, the rebirth of farmers markets and other influences. However, Pat McCarthy, owner of DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine in Seattle's Pike Place Market, says it's still unusual to meet young and talented producers — the folks who grow vegetables, make cheese, raise meat and churn butter.

"Talk about persistent and passionate. For such a young person, it's nice to see; it's impressive," said McCarthy. He runs into Kelsey nearly every year at the Seattle Cheese Festival, which he helps organize. "I wish I had her drive."

Kelsey, who's taking a year off before she starts college, remembers really liking brie and other cheese when she was in elementary school.

"I thought 'Wow, I could make this!' " Kelsey said. And, as is her way, she started reading book after book about cheese and cheesemaking, and eventually took classes in Seattle.

Already, she and her older sister, Kristen, were raising chickens for their eggs and meat on their parents' seven acres of rolling land on Vashon. When they added a cow to the mix, Kelsey found herself rising with the sun many days to milk Iris before heading off to school. She couldn't travel far for more than a year, she said, until she could train someone else to milk in her absence. These days, she milks Lil while singing along to CDs of Eric Clapton, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen or the musical "Hairspray."

Cheesemaking is an opportunity for endless experimentation, she says. Her creations, a range of soft and aged cheeses, come out a bit different each time, sometimes by design, sometimes because she's still practicing. Kelsey isn't licensed to sell her cheeses, but she shares with family and friends.

On this day she's laid out a spread on her kitchen counter: ricotta, mascarpone, Colby, feta, a cheddar, her own butter. They're rich, smooth and luscious and catch the attention of Gorgonzola, one of the family's four cats.

Cheese turned out to be Kelsey's golden ticket to college. She brought samples to the CIA admissions office, Linda Kozak said, wowing the staff. One of her daughter's many dreams: A restaurant in the countryside that serves meat, produce and dairy products from animals she's raised.

Kelsey's parents (Mom stays at home, Dad Chuck is a software developer) encouraged their daughters' interest in farming and food with road trips to far-flung farms, dairies and state fairs. In high school, Kelsey traveled to France and Italy to fine-tune her cheese palate even further.

But Kelsey's parents still have their limits.

"It would be nice to have a cave someday," said Kelsey, who, sans cheese cave, ages her creations in a college dorm-size fridge. "But I can't convince my parents to dig a hole in the hill."

Karen Gaudette: 206-515-5618 or kgaudette@seattletimes.com