BARRY Charlton, and his team at Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese, are officially the best specialist or artisan cheesemakers in the world.
And the fact that their entries, in the 2023 International Cheese and Dairy Awards, in Staffordshire England, including the Mossvale Blue, Tarwin Blue, Oak Blue and buffalo-milk Riverine Blue, rose to the top against 5500 cheeses from all over the world, should be a source of great pride for South Gippsland, as much as it was a huge thrill for Barry and the team.
Not only is the cheese made by locals at a small processing plant on Fish Creek-Foster Road, overlooking the splendour of Corner Inlet and Wilsons Prom, but the milk is also produced locally, at Graham and Jill Nichol’s dairy farm at Fish Creek, and also at the Jans family’s Riverine buffalo farm at Giffard West.
It’s altogether a South Gippsland success story of the highest order and the cheese… well, the handmade cheeses from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese are really something quite special.
“We just picked them out from the product we make every day, and sent them off,” said Barry Charlton last week of the entries Berrys Creek sent to England last month.
“But it really is a team effort, from our cheesemakers, Georgina Furjes and Kathryn Brown to the other members of our cheese family here and also our local milk suppliers, Graham and Jill Nichols at Fish Creek, and Bryan, John and Tina Jans at Giffard; they’re as passionate as we are about making great cheese.”
It's no fluke that they know how to make world-class cheese at Berrys Creek Cheese, nor has it been an overnight sensation.
Barry cut his teeth making the highly-regarded Drouin Vintage Tasty at the old Drouin Co-op way back in the 1970s, and following on from a career as a proprietary cheesemaker, he established his own artisan cheese company, with partner Cheryl Hulls, at Poowong in 2007, and almost immediately starting to win awards, especially for those cheeses inspired by Cheryl’s home town of Berrys Creek.
Initially awarded medals and then trophies at capital city shows and in Dairy Industry Association of Australia competitions, they soon chanced their arm on the world stage in England, Norway, Spain and the USA, with escalating results.
In particular, their blue cheeses, the Oak Blue, Mossvale Blue, Tarwin Blue and buffalo-milk Riverine Blue; claimed gold medals and regularly, the ‘Best Australian Cheese’ award but this time, they’ve entered the stratosphere when it comes to cheese awards as the first Australian cheesemakers to be awarded the ICDA’s “Supreme Specialist/ Artisan Cheesemaker” – the world’s best!
“It was really recognition for all the cheeses we sent,” said Cheryl, listing the gold medals, category awards and trophies collected from their most successful-ever event. Among them were:
- Supreme Specialist/ Artisan Cheesemaker: Champion winner Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese - Mossvale Blue.
- ICDA Trophy ‘Champion Asia/Australasia Cheese’ – Oak Blue.
- The Reefer 90s Award ‘Best Australian Cheese’ Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese – Riverine Blue.
- Best Blue Vein Cheese (Soft) Open to non-UK Producers only. First: Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese Australia - Tarwin Blue. Second Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese Australia - Oak Blue.
There were numerous other category and section awards.
“It’s a great honour to have received this prestigious award,” said Cheryl Hulls.
“Berrys Creek was one of over 5,500 entries for this event and to place top position in the world is amazing for a small artisan cheesemaking team from Fish Creek, Victoria.”
Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese can be found in most independent local stores in the specialty cheese area including IGA Leongatha, Korumburra, Meeniyan, Foster, Tarwin Lower and San Remo. Meeniyan Pantry Cellar, Ethical Food Store Koonwarra, Fish Creek General Store, Gibsons Cafe Fish Creek, Aherns Fruit Market Foster, Prom Coast Collective, Udder and Hoe Kilcunda, Island Foodstore Cowes and Craig Young Butchery Mirboo North.
For more information about the product: http://www.berryscreekcheese.com