The Cheese Ark closes after 12 years, owner plans new life as a shepherd

To understand the kind of impact Ms Syu Ai Ming has had, one need only look at the Instagram account for her cheese store, The Cheese Ark (@thecheeseark).

- Tan Hsueh Yun Senior Correspondent

In a post on Oct 24, the 53-year-old announced she was closing the store after 12 years to go become a shepherd. It generated 1,153 likes, 1,118 shares and 60 comments.

A sampling:

@cwpy: "NO0000000000000000000000" (and three crying face emoji)

@howmelissasim: "Absolutely gutted, but also very happy for you."

@johanna.hellstrom: "Ai you mean a lot to your friends and producers in the very North of Sweden, thank you for adventures and learning. Thank you for seeing us, our work with farms and cheeses. We feel understood with you. Hope you have the possibility to come visit us in the future. Welcome!"

@thedreamydryad: "This is bittersweet news, Ming! But I'm so glad you're once again chasing your dreams. It's been such a privilege to have experienced so many cheeses through your storytelling and curation. It's an indelible part of my memories of Singapore and one of the most singular food experiences ever."

In 12 years, Ms Syu has convinced thousands of customers here that there is a delicious, fascinating world of cheese beyond comte and brie. She stays in close touch with 3,000 of her customers via WhatsApp. And those are just the regulars. They were the first to know about her plans to close the store she broke the news in July.

For her customers, she would travel all over Europe the first three months of every year to source cheese; meeting small producers and persuading them to sell her their wares.

Back in Singapore, she would tend to those cheeses like babies, ageing them, turning them, tasting them daily to see how they evolved and selling them to customers at the peak.

Her voice, soft and high, contrasts with the no-nonsense demeanour - wiry frame, signature mop top and colourful compression socks (she is on her feet all day). When she speaks, though, there is no mistaking this: Ms Syu knows cheese and is able, more importantly, to communicate that passion to every customer.