Cricket Creek Farm is owned by Jude Sabot. Topher Sabot, Jude’s son, oversees the daily operations of the farm.
Each year we take on a new set of apprentices who come here for a year to learn, work, and play with us. All of us together make up a dynamic farm team. Visit our employment pages to learn more about opportunities here, including the apprenticeships.
Jude Sabot – Owner
Jude moved to Williamstown with her husband and 4 children after living in England for 4 years, in Tanzania for 2 years and Washington DC for 10 years. While it was never in her life plan to be a farm owner/ manager and cheese maker, she has found the challenge and the adventure very rewarding– and fun! She enjoys working with our great group of employees and interns and interacting with customers and community. Her passions are listening to music, being outside as much as possible, learning a new language, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Topher Sabot – Owner/Farm Manager
Topher Sabot grew up in Williamstown on Oblong Rd, attending Mt. Greylock High School, and then Williams College. After several years out west, Topher returned to help manage Cricket Creek Farm and took over daily operations in 2009. Topher oversees all aspects of the business, but focuses his attention mostly on the dairy herd – cow health, breeding, forage etc. Topher is also the editor of FasterSkier.com, an online news source for Nordic Skiing. Topher loves the rolling hills, forests and fields of Williamstown, and when not working on the farm, can be found running or biking, hanging with his wife Jen and little boys Charlie and Jasper.
Emily Cordner – Assistant Farm Manager
Emily started at Cricket Creek as a farm apprentice where she worked alongside Topher milking the cows, feeding pigs, driving tractors, making hay, feeding cows, fixing big mechanical things, chasing cows, and chasing pigs. She’s since stayed on as the farm’s first Assistant Farm Manager. Before coming to Cricket Creek, Emily spent a year working on an 80,000 acre beef ranch in Colorado and at an animal rescue center, where she dealt with everything from pigs to crocodiles. She brings an unmatched work-ethic, a deep-seated love of animals, a great sense of humor (a necessity on a dairy farm) and an impressive array of skills.
Chris Mulligan – Head Cheesemaker
Born and raised in Providence Rhode Island, our cheese maker has found his way here through a wide array of creative pursuits, having trained as a jazz drummer and composer, worked for years as a 35mm film projectionist, performed widely as a DJ, toured with a dance troupe, and worked with food and fermentation in a variety of settings, “from banquet to backyard”. He has touched down here in the mountains of Western Massachusetts to focus on one of his most loved crafts, making cheese.
“Cheese making means a lifetime of learning, if you want to do it well. So I’m not afraid of getting bored anytime soon.”
Beth Lewand – Operations Manager
Beth really loves cheese, and is responsible for creamery operations, marketing and sales. She and her husband Chris previously owned and operated Eastern District, a food shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which specialized in artisanal cheese and craft beer. A graduate of Williams College, she also enjoys cooking (especially Asian food and pizza), gardening (especially tomatoes and herbs), music, books, Legos, the outdoors, old cities, and friendly kitties.