A NEW artisan food business - Robe Dairy - has wowed the judges with the quality and flavour of their products at the Dairy Industry Association of Australia National Dairy Product Competition.
Less than a year after David and Julie Hinchliffe began selling milk, they received two gold medals for their Jersey milk and labneh cheese at the Awards of Excellence gala dinner in Melbourne last week.
"We knew our products were good and people have been loving them, but we wanted to see how they compared to other dairy products across the country. It's wonderful to think that the judges agree we have created something pretty special," Ms Hinchliffe said.
The labneh, released just two months ago, was the highest scoring non-cheddar cheese at the awards, which attracted more than 1200 dairy entries.
It is made from Robe Dairy yoghurt strained in the traditional Greek way, combined with organic purple variety garlic, locally grown olive oil and freshly picked rosemary.
"We've been making and eating this cheese at home for years," Ms Hinchliffe said.
"It is soft, creamy and delicately flavoured."
The couple also topped the class for their full cream, unhomogenised Jersey milks.
"We remember what it was like to have milk delivered to your door in bottles where the cream separated to the top and we wanted to re-create that," Mr Hinchliffe said.
In August last year the Hinchliffes began selling milk from their 20-cow herd.
The couple say they are far from an "overnight success".
It has been a seven-year journey since buying the land and gradually building a dairy and cheesery, largely with their own labour.
Mr Hinchliffe honed his cheesemaking skills with further training and work experience in New Zealand - thanks to a grant from the SA Food and Beverage Development Fund in 2012.
He says with such a small herd they recognised the need to value-add to become economically viable, rather than selling their milk to a factory.
The business fulfills their love of food and animals.
It is a significant career change from their backgrounds in environmental science.
"We are truly a family business, our children Abby and John help out with the animals and David's parents John and Sue Hinchliffe have given huge amounts of time and energy to the build. We are so grateful to John and Sue and everyone who has supported us," Ms Hinchliffe said.
Robe Dairy's products are available at selected retailers throughout the Limestone Coast and just over the Vic border at Casterton.
They regularly attend Limestone Coast Farmers Markets held throughout the region, and two months ago have begun selling products in two Adelaide locations including the Adelaide Central Markets.
Another product - a soft surface ripened French-style brie cheese - will shortly be added to the range, and they have plans to open a farm gate shop capitalising on Robe's summer tourist influx.