#35: MOULD RAW: Gabrielle Kervella and Alan Cockman, Kervella Cheese (New Zealand)

Today we speak with Jack Holman from Stone & Crow Cheese in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. We first met Jack when setting up the MOULD Cheese Festival in 2017 as then, he was the cheese maker at Yarra Valley Dairy in, the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne in Victoria. Stone and Crow was at that moment, his side hustle but as we tasted through his cheeses, and the incredible affinage projects and collaborations he was doing, we immediately realised he was creating something special. Like all side good hustles, Stone and Crow has now become his fill time gig and we are all lucky as a result. Every time I speak to Jack, and taste his cheese, I walk away with the feeling that he’s just getting started and the best is still yet to come. He is indeed one of those quiet achievers who not only makes great cheese, but is constantly thinking about his craft and what boundaries he can push. So, remember his name folks!

4 Kesä 202019min

The Brown family's (and Milawa's) contribution to Australian cheese cannot be underestimated. It all started thanks to some encouragement from their good friend (and other cheese legend) Richard Thomas, David and Anne Brown got in there and gave it a crack at the Milawa Butter Factory in 1988. The rest, they say is history, but it’s also the present. Many in the Australian cheese community still credit much of their early inspiration to the Brown family, especially that of Anne, including co-founder of MOULD, Nick Haddow from Bruny Island Cheese. Very sadly, Anne passed away last year and although some times has passed since, her loss is still felt. Her daughter Ceridwen, who I catch up with today, now runs this family business and she truly is a wonderful human being. Family. That is the word that first comes to mind when I think of MlIawa. It’s at the core of who they are, where they’ve been and what their future holds. You really get a sense of it when you speak to Ceridwen and I’m so grateful to her for opening up and sharing some wonderfully personal stories here. She really is an incredible human and truly embodies the family spirit of hospitality, sharing and passionately talking about what Milawa does. \And for those of you who have joined us at our festivals, you would have witnessed this first hand. And no doubt contributed to so many votes in the people’s choice. She’s always out the front of her stand, with a massive Milawa Blue in arm, handing out samples. I’m very grateful to her for being so open in our conversation here. Or may that was the wine we had in hand whilst recording?

25 Touko 202027min

In today’s episode, we speak to Kym Masters from Section 28 who are from the wonderful Adelaide Hills in South Australia. We recording this podcast at the height of home isolation but what I love about this conversation was that we talked about the impact and influence that traveling the world can have. With distance can come perspective as well as inspiration and motivation. And it is travel that is at the core of Kym’s, and the Section 28s, story. Thanks to a family trip to the humble, and beautiful town, of Monforte d’Alba in the gastronmic paradise of Piedmont, in Italys North West, it sparked the inspiration to create what has become, in our opinion, one of the great cheeses in Australia. Aptly named, and in tribute, to the town, Monforte. We know we will embarrass Kym by saying that as he is way too humble but this is yet another example the evolution of Australian cheese. And that something we should all be proud of. Yes, cheese makers here may draw inspiration from Europe, or anywhere frankly, but they take that and then craft something that is uniquely and unapologetically from this land. Let’s face it, drawing inspiration from elsewhere is nothing new. We could say the same for music, the arts, architecture … anything. It’s what people do with it that matters and in Section 28’s case, we are all the benefactors. We really enjoyed this chat with Kym and hope you do too.

25 Touko 202026min

Today, we catch up with Nicole gilliver from Grandvewe Cheese in Birchs Bay, in Tasmania. And for those not familiar with that area, they’re just a little over an hour south of Hobart. In this podcast, we get little personal. We discuss why she made the jump from what was a seemingly perfect life in the wine game in Brisbane, to moving to Tasmania and, in her own words, workings harder and longer than she’s ever done before. What was it about Tasmania, that not only drew her there, but kept her? We’re big fans of Nicole and I can tell you she was one of the first people I called when we were planning the inaugural MOULD Cheese Festival as I knew, with her straight talking way no bullshit way, she’d tell me if I was mad or not. I knew if we could convince her, we were on to something. And when I say straight talking, I delightfully frank, honest … with love.. kinda way. No, she does not suffer fools. So as I expected, when we caught up to record this, I knew she’d be exactly the same for you, which means you get to hear honest, upfront insights into what goes into making great Australian cheese and her opinion on it. And not just from a technical standpoint, but a personal one as well. The passion Nicole has for not just what she does but the cheese community as a whole is always inspiring. https://grandvewe.com.au/

20 Touko 202025min

This is the first of a series of interviews with the incredible cheesemakers that make up the MOULD COLLECTIVE. It’s about putting them in the spotlight and helping you get to know them better which in the end, we think, makes their cheese taste even better Here we chat with not only the co-founder of MOULD A Cheese Festival and Cheese Collective, but cheese maker, author and founder of Bruny Island Cheese in Tasmania, Nick Haddow. For as long we can remember, Nick has been a champion of great Australian cheese. Our chat was a chance to catch up talk a little more about what drives him, his inspiration and how Bruny Island Cheese Company came to be. If you’re keen for more, we’d love it if you’d subscribe to this podcast and tell your friends about it to. Or, even better, leave us a rating or comment as we’re really keen to hear from you as to what stories you’d like us to explore and more. You, after all, are part of this collective too. Just one quick note though, we recorded this in the time of social distancing so over the internet, so please be patient of some of the sound quality. We can't wait to share more cheese stories with you. Enjoy!

13 Touko 202027min

Welcome to the MOULD CHEESE COLLECTIVE PODCAST! We’d like to think this isn’t just a podcast. It’s more a chance to connect with a passionate community of like-minded makers, growers, farmers and families who just happen to make the best cheese in Australia. On this podcast, we’ll introduce you to some of the best cheesemakers we know, from right around Australia. You’ll get to hear their stories and get an understanding of what really goes into making truly brilliant, delicious cheese. There is no denying things have been tough of late, but the resilience these farmers have is astonishing and inspiring. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be chatting to folks from in and around the world of cheese, including some of Australia's top drinks producers. Why? Because, as much as we’ve tried, it seems you can’t live on cheese alone. You need something to go with it! So we hope you’ll join us and consider subscribing to the MOULD CHEESE COLLECTIVE! You can also find out more from mouldcheesefestival.com

7 Touko 20201min