Meet Me There September Newsletter

In this issue

• 2008 Age Good Food Guide – Who’s the Best?
• Interview with Cheese Trainer Carole Willman
• Taste: Milawa Gold

Welcome!

Welcome to the launch of the monthly Meet Me There newsletter. We aim to deliver entertaining and informative news, competitions and interviews regarding food and restaurants.

This issue we’re focusing loosely on cheese, with an interview with cheese maker and trainer Carole Willman from Cheeselinks. We also look at the winners of two recent gongs here in Australia: the restaurants awarded chef’s hats in the 2008 Age Good Food Guide and the cheese that took the Grand Prize in the 2007 Australian Specialty Cheese Show. I hope this will be the first of many enjoyable newsletters for you!

Regards, James - Editor, Meet Me There restaurant reviews

2008 Age Good Food Guide – Who’s the Best?

With the release of the Age Good Food Guide 2008 the talk around town has been about what's in and what's not. Interestingly, there's only one single restaurant in Victoria that's received the honour of being awarded Three Chef's Hats - Jacques Reymond in Prahran - and it's one that's also been rated 5 stars here at Meet Me There.

However, the high number of restaurants that received two or one hat would continue to suggest that our local scene is continuing to improve, and that we have a good representation at the penultimate end of the market. A good number of awards also went to regional venues, highlighting the strength and sophistication of our regional centres such as Daylesford, Bright, Mildura and the coast.

See the full list of Chef's Hat winners

Interview with Cheese Trainer Carole Willman

Carole, I went to one of your cheese-making classes held in Red Hill, Victoria. Tell us a bit about these workshops: What other places do you run them? How long have you been doing this? What’s your favourite place to run workshops?

The workshops are home cheesemaking workshops where people learn how to make their own cheese in their own kitchen using basic kitchen equipment.  It is a practical workshop, where people bring along their own milk, make the cheese and then take the cheese home with them at the end to continue the maturing process.  

I have been running these workshops for the past 22 years.  

I travel all over Australia running the workshops, sometimes at my premises at Little River, sometimes going to cheeseries like Red Hill cheese, sometimes going to cooking schools, sometimes TAFE Colleges or schools.  I do private workshops for groups of people in their own home who get their friends together who are all interested in good food.  I have also done workshops for commercial groups who use the day as a team building exercise for their staff.

Most of the workshops are held on weekends, although some week-day workshops are held depending on demand.   

Picking my favourite place to go is like picking a favourite child!  Everywhere I go there are people that are really interested in cheese and good food.  It is a really great thing to do, to be constantly spending time with people with a passion for the same things as you.  I can say that going to Queensland or Northern NSW in mid winter is a great to get away from the cold!  

How difficult is it for someone to start making cheese, if they’ve never tried it before?

There are a few basic rules that need to be adhered to, but as long as you do this it isn’t hard.  Cleanliness is most important.  Don’t forget that they have been making cheese for thousands of years without any high tech equipment.    

What sort of equipment and ingredients are necessary?

The sorts of things that are needed from your own kitchen are a stirring spoon, spatula, measuring jugs and some sort of container to make the cheese in.  Depending on the cheese this can be a saucepan or even a plastic container.  Other things that you will need to purchase are cheese starters, rennet and depending on the cheese you are making mould spores or other ripening cultures.  In most places throughout Australia you can buy the unhomogenised milk that you need for cheesemaking.   

What are your favourite cheeses to make at home?

I love to make Camembert, Washed Rind, Blue Cheese and Fetta, and watch them mature.  I also always have yoghurt (I make the Greek style yoghurt), Mascarpone and gourmet fetta that I have made in the fridge for use whenever I need it.  

Australia’s cheese-making industry is growing and excelling, with many smaller, artisan cheeseries turning out excellent products. What’s your favourite cheese made in Australia?

Once again a hard decision – like picking a favourite child – but here we go – with apologies to my other favourite cheeses. A cheese board that I would be happy to present:

Red Hill Cheese - Mountain Goat Blue
Barossa Valley Cheese - Washington washed rind
Harvey Cheese - OMG Triple Cream
Maffra Farmhouse Cheese - Maffra Aged Rinded Cheddar
Woodside Cheesewrights - Goat Curd
Comboyne Culture - Bluembert

What regions of Australia are worth looking out for in regards to good cheese?

Almost all regions of Australia have at least one farmhouse cheesemaker.  You just need to check if they are open to the public for tastings.

There is a bit of movement in northern NSW at the moment, where I expect at least two new cheesemakers to be starting in the next year.  

Can you suggest some good places to buy quality cheeses in Melbourne or regional Victoria?

In Melbourne:

• Vic Market – Curds and Whey or Bill’s Farm
• Milawa Cheese Shop  Nicholson St
• Leo’s Fine food Deli Kew and Heidelberg
• Prahran Market – Pete and Rosie’s Deli or The Cheese Shop Deli

Rural areas:

• Pronto Fine Foods  Warrnambool
• Mr Deli  Geelong
• Campana's Stockade Cellars Ballarat

Any retail place attached to a cheesery like:

• Red Hill Cheese; Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula
• Apostle Whey Cheese; Cooriemungle near Simpson in Western Victoria
• Milawa Cheese; Milawa
• Locheilan Farmhouse Cheese Wunghnu Northern Victoria

Farmers markets are a great place to get great cheese and also in most cases, you get to meet the cheesemaker!

See Carole's website at cheeselinks.com.au

 Taste: Milawa Gold

I was fortunate enough to try the cheese awarded the Grand Prize at the recent Australian Specialty Cheese Show: "Milawa Gold" by the Milawa Cheese Company. This washed rind has a pungent odour but tastes divine, quite smooth in both texture and flavour, incredibly easy to eat.

Milawa Gold is a European style washed-rind inspired by such famous classics as Port Salut and pont L'Eveque. For those unfamiliar with the style, a washed rind is bathed in a bacterial solution that encourages the growth of a red bacterial rind which ripens and flavours the cheese. Milawa Gold was the first commercial washed rind made in Australia and is a piquant, ambrosial cheese with a distinct gold to red rind - perfect to match your favourite full flavoured red.

Appearance: Milawa Gold has a pale orange rind that also looks a bit furry, like mould (although it's not mould). It's very soft and creamy on the inside, similar to a camembert or brie.

Aroma: This cheese is pungent: you can smell it from across the room when the packet is opened, and the smell isn't pleasant. You'll get used to it though, which is a good thing as you'll want to stay close to this cheese once it's open.

Texture: Very soft but not runny, the rind being only slightly chewier. Incredibly creamy, it holds together well and fills out to coat your mouth when you take that first delectable bite.

Flavour: Milder than you think it will be based on the odour! Slightly sweet with a touch of the characteristic piquancy of a washed rind, the flavour is full but not intense. Very palatable - everyone in my family tried this cheese and loved it.

I'm not going to disagree with the judges here: this is an excellent cheese that both pleases and suprises. Definitely worth trying if you can get past the smell!

See the full list of show winners.