Today we chat to our first international guests on the podcast; Gabrielle Kervella and Alan Cockman from Kervella cheese who are one of the three producers in New Zealand making Raw Milk cheese.

With both sharing impressive cheese making resumes in Australia, France, South Africa and now New Zealand, these veterans have a great story to tell with an incredible 80 years of combined experience.

We discuss Kervella's journey from a small goat farm in Western Australia, to learning how to make goat cheese in France on family holidays … trying to apply European techniques to Australian conditions, before finally returning to Gabriella’s home in New Zealand to what they thought would be their retirement. Not. So.

We get curd nerdy with Alan as he tells us about the evolution of starter cultures and the difference between how cheese is made today on a mass scale compared to what he is trying to achieve and how raw milk plays into this.
We also touch on the regulations in New Zealand in regard to Raw milk production, what their customers think and what it means to be a true artisan producer.

You can tell that Alan and Gabriella have a true and enduring passion for their craft and it is such a pleasure to share their story.

So let’s get into it.

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Follow Kervella at @KervellaCheese

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WELCOME TO RAW MILK CHEESE MONTH at the Podcast where we speak to the makers, growers, farmers, and families who are making the best RAW milk cheese in the Australia (and beyond!).

To kick things off, we talk with Burke Brandon from Prom Country Cheese in South Gippsland Victoria.

Last year, they released the Moyarra Reserve which was the first RAW milk cheese in Victoria for over 80 years.

It’s been a wild 12 months since for sure, so we thought this a great chance to check in and see how things are... a year after release.

It is in this month's cheese box, after-all.

Challenging year aside, Burke along with his wonderful wife Bron, took some time to reflect and fine tune not only their own processes, build on the connection with their customers (crucial to any business) and probably most importantly, build confidence in their production method.
For us, we’re grateful for it as the proof of this is in the cheese. it’s down right delicious.

Burke also offers some great insights into the barriers to Raw milk production in Australia and we get into the nitty gritty about ph, Acidity, cultures and the potential (well, hopeful) chance of making a raw milk blue cheese in the country. Or maybe that’s just us projecting our own wants.

Look, this one is great for those true curd nerds! So let's get into it.

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Follow @prom_ cheese
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This week episode we're flipping the format and thanks to our guest host, the wonderful Hilary McNevin, Dan Sims is put in the hot seat as he talks all things MOULD Cheese Collective, how it evolved, how it's been and where it's going.
Add to that he dips into his sommelier roots and talks cheese, wine and drinks matching as well as his new project, GOOD TIME WINES which is all about wine in fun, 150ml cans made by awesome winemakers. 

Pivot may be the word of the pandemic, so here is the inside word on how and why the primarily festival focused business of REVEL, has learned to adapt and innovate throughout while keeping the core values of connection and community front of mind. 

A huge thank you to Hilary McNevin for stepping into the host chair and yes, it won't be last time!

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For more information about the MOULD Collective, follow via the socials @mouldcheese

Check out GOOD TIME WINES website via the links below and follow on the socials @goodtimewines
https://www.goodtimewines.com/