Section28 Artisan Cheeses has once again proven its excellence by clinching the top spot in the ‘From The Dairy’ category at the prestigious delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards this year.
Now in its 18th year, the 2023 Produce Awards focus on Australia’s best producers – the people who grow, cultivate, harvest and catch the produce supplied to the country’s leading chefs and hospitality venues.
And SA was the cream of the crop, if you will.
The winning cheese? A Montforte Grand Reserve, one of Section28’s flagship cheeses. It’s a raw-milk, semi-hard cheese which has won the hearts of minds of people, and now critics, all over the country.
“When we have amazing batches of cheese, we portion it out and hold on to some of it for longer, so we can age it even more. This cheese was aged for three years, and our affinage teams washed and turned twice a week. That’s over 300 times!” said co-owner Kym Masters who owns the business with his wife Joanne.
“It’s an award that includes any dairy product, so we’re up against milk, cheeses, etc. So we’re feeling very privileged and lucky”.
Kym and Joanne founded Section28 in 2015, both entering from unlikely fields.
“I had a career in investment banking, and my wife had a corporate career too, but we both wanted to pursue making art”.
I found this a really beautiful way of explaining the cheese-making process, and asked Kym to explain the artistry.
“Cheese making is a really interesting blend of art and science. The make-up of the milk, and converting it into cheese, is scientific. But to produce that edge… that little big of something you can’t quite put your finger on but that makes it special – that’s art.”
“Good scientists can make good cheese but you need artistic flair to make amazing cheese.”
“I see our role as Shepards of the microbes, because you can’t force them to do something. And there’s a chance that after three years, it will be awful. That doesn’t happen often though, and we’re getting better and better at understanding. It’s a passion project.”
SA also took home the gold in three other categories, with Inkwell Wines’ Irina Santiago-Brown named Outstanding Viticulturist; Paroo Premium Kangaroo recognised for its Outstanding Sustainability; and Maggie Beer awarded Outstanding Contribution to Australian Food. Read more about them here.
You can get Section28’s award winning cheeses at The Smelly Cheese Shop at Adelaide Central Market, and at many of the local wineries int he Adelaide Hills.
Find them here.
