Story & photos Eve Jeffery
Notice anything happening at the gateway to Byron Bay on Ewingsdale Road?
Anyone driving east into town in the last few months would have noticed work on the property across from the power substation.
From the end of this month, The Bangalow Cheese Company will be renaming themselves the Byron Bay Cheese Company. And hopefully by the end of the year, they be ready to move in to their new premises.
The company recently purchased the old Flowerdale farm and have christened it ‘The Farm at Byron Bay’.
Plans are to eventually house a small enclave, including a cafe/restaurant, wood- fired pizza and a bakery as well as the cheese-processing plant and sales in the surrounding paddocks.
Head cheesemaker Rhys Burley has been making cheese for about ten years and has been with this outfit for about five. The new location is more accessible to the public, says Rhys, which will allow people to see more of the process. ‘We want to be transparent with how we do things’, says Rhys.
‘Customers want to know more about their food, where it’s coming from and how it’s made. Down here, it’s exciting for me. I am passionate about cheese and now I have an opportunity to share that with the public.’
Rhys says that the business is set to expand, making new cheeses and taking Byron Bay Cultured Butter to the next level. ‘I am also excited to announce our new Byron Bay Cheese Club’, says Rhys.
The Cheese Club will boast Rhys’s prepared selection of products, along with a specialty produced cheese club exclusive cheese that gets packaged up and delivered to your door.
Club tempters will include Nashua Whiskey-washed rind, Tintenbar Triple Cream Brie, Smooth Feta, Newrybar Semi-hard Cheese, Byron Bay Garlic Co, Black Garlic and Tamarind Jam.
The cheeses are made with locally sourced milk and are free from preservatives and stabilisers, and Rhys says he will continue to shop locally.
‘We are going to be looking at sourcing milk from around Coorabell and there is also another guy just across the road who has beautiful Jersey milk’, he says.
‘The milk is all single herd. This arms me with the knowledge of the milk. I know the farmer and how he is treating his animals, which is really important to me.’
For more information, visit www.thefarmbyronbay.com.au.
