NICKHADDOWofBrunyIslandCheeseCohasmadehis
dreamcometrue.Hehadalwayswantedtomakecheese
fromhisownherdofmilkers.Nowashegazesoutathis
herdmadeupofolddairybreeds—BrownSwiss,Australian
DairyShorthornandNormande—heiscontent.Hehas
closedthelooponhischeesemakingprocessandthecheese
hemakesisa uniqueexpressionofplace,thatplacebeing
GlenHuonFarminthepristineHuonValley,Tasmania.
NickhonedhiscraftinEuropeafterbeingawarded
a Queen’sTrustGranttoworkwithcheesemakersin
England,Scotland,Ireland,Spain,FranceandItaly,where
helearnedtraditionalcheesemakingandmaturation
techniques.HebeganBrunyIslandCheeseCoin 2003 and
stillusesfarmhousemethodstothisday.Heisalsousing
rawmilk,a relativelynewpracticeinmoderncheesemaking
inAustralia.HisRawMilkc2,a hardcow’smilkcheesethat
hasa mildnuttyf lavour,issimilartothosefoundinthe
mountainregionsofFranceandnorthernItaly.“Rawmilk
cheesewillbecomemoreandmorea partofourstoryas
producersrespondtothedemandforcheesethattruly
ref lectswhereitcomesfrom,”saysNick.“Ialsohopethat
wecontinuetomoveawayfromthetemptationtocopy
Europeancheesesandinsteaddevelopuniquelocalstyles.”
“Iamprettyexcitedbythefutureoflocalcheese,”
hecontinues.“Beingoneoftheoldmenoftheindustry
thesedays,itisawesometoseea newwaveofyounger
cheesemakers who are taking up the reins.”
In2016,Nickbeganbrewinga rangeofbeers,mostlyales
andstouts,undertheBrunyIslandBeerCo.“Iftherewas
everanall-round,go-todrinkthatbothcomplementsand
contrastswithcheese,itisbeer,”hesays.
WhenNickisnotbusyinthecheeseryandbreweryhe
likesnothingmorethanhavinga biggroupoffriendsand
familyoverforlunchordinner.“Ineverreallyhavemuch
ofa plan.Cookingcomesprettyeasilytomeandfeeding
a crowdisrarelya dauntingtask.I alwayscookfourorfive
dishesandservethemoncommunalplates.I hatebeing
toostructuredandmuchpreferjustfillinga tablewithfood
andlettingeveryonegrazeattheirownpace.Italsomeans
oncethefoodisonthetable,that’sit,I’mdone.I cansit
andenjoythemealwitheveryoneelse,”heexplains.
AsforNick’snewdream,he’dliketoseeAustralians
embracecheesejustaspassionatelyastheFrenchandstart
enjoyinga cheesecoursebeforedessert.“ButI’malso
notagainststartinga mealwithcheese,”hesays.“Often,
ifwehavefriendsaround,wewillstartwitha bottleof
Tasmaniansparklinganda fewcheeses.Ifthereisany
left,wewillbringthemoutagainattheendofthemeal.”
Tohelp,BrunyIslandCheeseCohasrecentlyestablished
a cheeseclub.Eighttimesa year,membersreceivea
selectionofNick’scheesesdeliveredtotheirdoor,anywhere
inAustralia,includingatleastonecheesethathasbeen
exclusivelymadeandmaturedfortheclub.>
For more information, visit brunyislandcheese.com.au