2 minute read
Cheese celebration in Maleny
Celebrating our local dairy industry
Sara Bucher, of Maleny Cheese, with Desley and Tom Malone
Dairy farmers of the Sunshine Coast came together last Friday over a cup of tea and a slice of cheesecake to celebrate 120 years of dairying at the recently reopened Maleny Cheese Café.
Owner of Maleny Cheese, Sara Bucher, said milk from the Sunshine Coast area was becoming harder to source for processors. However, thanks to the resilience of local dairy farmers, the industry continues on the Sunshine Coast hinterland and is part of the sub-tropical dairy region that spans from Coffs Harbour in NSW through to the Atherton Tableland in North Queensland.
Historically, Maleny Dairy Co-Operative was one of many local Sunshine Coast hinterland processors to take local milk and process and sell it nationally and internationally.
Photo taken of cheesemaking in Teutoberg (now known as Witta) in 1899 at Mrs Bergann's Farm
The milk of this area is of high quality and resulted in it being suitable for butter making that was so good it could be exported to England.
These days local processors regularly receive awards for the products they make from their locally sourced fresh quality milk, including Maleny Cheese, Maleny Dairies, Woombye Cheese, Maleny Food Co and Cedar Street Cheeserie.
Those in the rest of the country who tuned in to last Friday night’s ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ will also know just how good our local produce is after one of Australia’s best-loved TV chefs and food authors, 'Fast' Ed Halmagyi, visited Maleny Cheese as part of the show.
With more than 20 years of cooking in some of the world’s best restaurants, both in Australia and overseas; the presenter of the Channel 7 program visited the region to film a series of food-themed episodes last month.
Ed Halmagyi said the most remarkable thing about the Sunshine Coast as a food destination was its unique combination of variety and world-beating quality.
On last Friday night’s show, Ed managed to get Sara on the cooking tools and together they created a truly spectacular looking sweet treat that combined lush strawberries from Strawberry Fields at Palmview with Maleny Cheese’s triple cream brie to make a vanilla brie mousse with twicecooked strawberries and pistachios.
The filming of ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ on the Sunshine Coast was coordinated and supported by Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) and Sunshine Coast Council.
The previous Friday night’s show featured an interview with Maleny’s Spicers Tamarind Retreat head chef Dan Jarrett about the upcoming Sunshine Coast event, The Curated Plate, a new four-day destination food festival from August 8-11.
VSC CEO Simon Latchford said the programs were a fantastic opportunity to showcase the Sunshine Coast during prime time on a high rating national television show.
“This not only puts the spotlight on our magnificent region but shows viewers we have incredible produce and that there is more to the Sunshine Coast than just our spectacular beaches,” Simon said.
Sara Bucher said Maleny Cheese was delighted to be considered for the program and pleased that the timing worked well with the recent reopening of the café after the fire last September that closed the cheese factory.
