DIAA gongs for bottled milk and four cheeses

The hard work and attention to detail at Apostle Whey Cheese was rewarded with a swag of gongs at the 2018 DIAA Awards of Excellence on Friday, May 11.

The Dairy Industry Association of Australia awards were held at the Melbourne Plaza Ballroom where Apostle Whey Cheese was represented by owners Julian and Dianne Benson.

The Bensons, who started Apostle Whey Cheese in 2005, are no stranger to winning awards for their range of dairy products.

“Entering awards is a really good way for us to benchmark ourselves against others and also to acknowledge the work of our cheesemakers and staff,” Julian said.

“For us to be successful we have to follow an exact formula. Firstly, we need great recipes for our cheese and secondly we need procedures that are adhered to – and are able to be replicated by our staff in order to deliver a consistent product,” he added.

This year Apostle Whey Cheese was honoured with the Savannah Bio Systems Perpetual Shield for its Apostle Whey Southern Briez Cheese. This award honours the highest-scoring non-cheddar cheese. The Southern Briez was also awarded with the Jasol Award for the highest scoring brie/camembert style cheese.

“The main secret to the success of our cheeses is the quality of our milk. Luke, our son, manages the farm now and his role in producing high-grade milk means we can make the quality of cheese that we do.

“Luke and his fiancée Susan consistently rate in the Top 100 in Dairy Australia’s Milk Quality Awards and good quality milk is the foundation of our cheese, milk and gelato products.

“To be honoured with a Silver Award for our Apostle Way Milk, which was only launched at the start of last year, is extra special,” Mr Benson added.

Apostle Whey Cheese was awarded one gold, and four silver medals at last Friday’s Dairy Industry Association of Australia Victorian Dairy Product Competition.

Gold

• Southern Briez – Class 29 (Cheese, White Mould Ripened – Brie Style)

Silver

• Smear Ripened – Class 22 (Cheese, with eyes, ripened by bacteria)

• Bay of Martyrs – Class 27 (Cheese with blue Mould)

• Loch Ard Gorgeous – Class 28 (Cheese, White Mould Ripened – Camembert Style)

• Apostle Way Full Cream Milk – Class 59 – Pasteurised (Non-Homogenised) Milk)