That’s the cheese!

From locally laboured cheeses to the tasty tidbits and flavoursome drinks which complement them, the only blue you should be feeling this October is one smeared over artisanal Western Australian bread.

Running for the eighth year in a row, WA Cheese Week is back with more dairy delectables and creamy creations.

“WA Cheese Week provides a platform for our WA cheese producers to tell their stories of locally crafted cheese, artisan cheese making and niche production,” Hart & Co Marketing Director Belinda Hart said.

“Many of the local businesses participating are part of the Buy West Eat Best community, which Hart & Co is very pleased to support.”

Despite the name of the event, if you thought a mere week was enough to celebrate the wonders of local, WA Cheese Week President Howard Crump has other ideas.

“Seven days isn’t enough, so we start on Saturday October 19 and run through to Sunday October 27,” he said. “Buy West Eat Best is very much interested in promoting all of our cheese makers and all the local producers we’re involved with, as well as getting the Buy West Eat Best message along with us out to the WA public.”

Getting fired up before festivities even begin, Hart & Co will be hosting the offcial launch of WA Cheese Week at its state-of-the-art showroom in Osborne Park on Thursday September 26 at 6pm.

“We’re very passionate about supporting our local WA Cheese producers and cheese companion producers, as many of them are local family-owned businesses just like Hart & Co,” Ms Hart said.

“We’ll also be offering our customers the exclusive opportunity to register for a cheeseboard masterclass at the official launch of WA Cheese Week.”

New owners of classic brands on the WA dairy scene are making waves in familiar territory by reviving and growing these local icons.

In the South West region, you will find Busselton-based The Cheeky Cow making a sustainable and fully local dream into reality.

When Margaret River Dairy Company and Mundella Foods were set to close their doors, The Cheeky Cow Owner Hayden Russell took the chance to buy both businesses and resurrect their brilliant products.

Having kept the original Mundella Foods yoghurt formula the same, as it was an amazing recipe to start with, Mr Russell said he had plans to bring back a few of the older popular recipes but with real fruits instead of colours and flavourings.

Doing away with the club cheddar at Margaret River Dairy Company, which had been sourced from the eastern states and New Zealand, Mr Russell said he was also excited to bring a new farmhouse-style cheese to market.

“This is a semi-hard cheese, which fits perfectly on cheese platters and also in cooking, as it melts very well,” he said.

Mr Russell said Buy West Eat Best had been a great support for The Cheeky Cow since it first started.

“It has always been very supportive and encouraging, and with advertising, Buy West Eat Best has always put its weight behind our brands, which has been a real bonus,” he said.

Harvey Cheese in Wokalup has always been a WA institution of note – after 23 years, the founding St Duke family passed on the matured mantle in 2023 to new owner Peter Lottering, with the company continuing strong under his direction.

In support of other local producers, Harvey Cheese has partnered with Halls Family Dairy to make the most of its Normande heritage cattle on a specific feed for cheese making.

“We get a small batch of their milk once a week,” Mr Lottering said. “Then, we make Suzette – a very traditional Normandy-style cheese – and give it back to Halls Family Dairy, who markets and sells it.”

Wasting not and wanting for nothing, Mr Lottering has continued Harvey Cheese’s original owners’ initiative of making beers, gins and vodkas from leftover whey from the cheese making process – the only producer in WA to do this and one of two nationally.

Buy West Eat Best is there every step of the way for new owners like Mr Lottering.

“For those of us who are very new to foodservice and manufacturing, it is fantastic,” he said. “I actually can’t imagine us not being part of a program like Buy WestEat Best.”

As it appeared in the 2024 September 26 edition of The West Australian’s Buy West Eat Best liftout.