Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese was established in 2005 in Ballarat Victoria by Nardia Baxter-Keene and Andrew Keene. Nardia has a background in Microbiology and Andrew has a background in Food Science so they combined their skills to follow their dream of establishing their own food business. The milk supplied to Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese comes from only two local farms. The first farm is a conventional farm with a Friesian herd (the black and white cows) and the second is a biodynamic farm which has a Jersey herd (the light brown cows with the big brown eyes). The milk from the two breeds of cows produce very different cheeses. Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese cheeses are made in small batches by hand using artisan methods. The reduced reliance on machinery ensures that the carbon footprint is reduced.
Our cheeses are made in Ballarat while our cellar door is located in the charming gold mining town of Creswick directly opposite the beautiful town hall. At our cellar door you will be able to taste our range of cheeses and it is the only place where you can taste and purchase our Cheddar Gold. In our cellar door you can sit down to enjoy a glass of local wine and a platter of cheese.
At our cellar door you can also sample locally made sourdough bread chutney, jam, jellies, honey, olives, olive oil, walnuts, walnut oil and wines. All products stocked at our cellar door are made within the Victorian Goldfields.
Currently Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese makes fourteen different varieties of cheese. The variety of cheeses made range from soft and creamy through to hard and tangy. All our cheeses are named after Victorian Goldfields related places with the exception of our Lasseter’s Reef which is located somewhere in the McDonald Ranges in eastern Western Australia.
Our currently list of cheeses include:
Brie/Camembert Style cheeses (White mould)
Warrenheip White: We call this our brie style cheese. It has a mild creamy flavour and creamy texture. It is the mildest of all our cheeses and a good place for the cheese novice or addict to start.
Warrenheip Ashed: A brie style cheese with a coating of black ash hidden under the white surface. The ash gives the cheese a smoky flavour and enhances the softening of the texture making it creamer compared to the un-ashed Warrenheip white.
Pyrenees View: We call this our camembert style cheese. Made using a traditional Normandy method, Pyrenees View has a complex earthy, mushroom-like flavour and rich, creamy texture that gently flows. Pyrenees View is the white mould cheese often preferred by blue cheese lovers.
Mt Buninyong Mist: A creamy white mould cheese made of biodynamic jersey milk giving a rich buttery colour and flavour to the cheese.
Semi-Hard Cheeses
Lasseter’s Reef: A blue vein without blue veins!!! The cheese is made in the style of a blue vein but does not contain any blue mould. A medium to firm textured cheese with flavours of Gouda, Havarti with a hint of cheddar but not the same as it is not made like any of these cheeses. We made it once by accident now we make it on purpose. If you know the legend of Lasseter’s Reef then you will get the joke.
Miner’s Delight: Made in the style of a Spanish Manchego cheese. Traditionally this cheese is made with Sheep milk but we have cow’s milk so we make it with that! Miner Delight is a cooked cheese which means that the curd is heated up after it is formed. The texture is surprisingly soft while the flavour is sweet and nutty not unlike that of Swiss cheeses.
Blue Veins
Welcome Stranger: A blue mould cheese with a natural rind, made from Bio-dynamic Jersey milk. The texture is firm but creamy texture with a delicious gentle blue vein flavour.
Ascot blue: This cheese is matured for four to six weeks then waxed and allowed to continue maturing. When you first taste Ascot Blue you will taste sweet nutty cheddar-like flavours then the blue vein flavour comes through in the after taste then lingers on the palate. This is a good blue vein to introduce novices to blue vein cheese.
Welshman’s Reef: Welshman’s Reef is made in the style of a Stilton cheese however it is firmer that the English cheese due to the style of cheese vat we have. Welshman’s Reef is cloth matured for a minimum of two months resulting in a hard blue vein cheese with a strong but not over powering flavour.
Buangor Blue: Buangor Blue is made in the style of a Shropshire Blue vein cheese and is distinguished by an orange coloured curd. Buangor Blue is made from “Bio-dynamic” Jersey milk, is cloth matured for a minimum of two months resulting in a semi hard blue vein cheese with a strong but not over powering blue vein flavour.
Hard Cheese
Cheddar Gold: Farmhouse cheddar made the traditional English way. Our cheddar is matured for a minimum of 18 month and has a full bitey flavour. Due to the small scale of our dairy and the age of the cheese, there are flecks of blue vein within the cheese that impart a wonderful flavour.
Feta cheeses
Ballarat Feta: A traditional tasting cow’s milk feta. We lightly brine our feta so you get an initial hit of salt then the tangy lipase-like flavours of the cheese comes through. Don’t dismiss tasting our feta because it is quite like anything you have had from the supermarket.
Feta marinated - Mixed Herb & Garlic: Our feta infused with crushed garlic and mixed dried herbs.
Feta marinated - Chilli: Our feta infused with chilli flakes.
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- Address
- 71A Albert Street, Creswick, Victoria, Australia
- Telephone
- 0408 393 792 or 0409 756 289
- Fax
- 5333 2861
- Website
- Click Here
- Opening Hours
- 10am - 4.30pm Fri - Sun
- Contact
- Nardia Baxter - Keene
- Manufactured Produce
- Yes
- Town
- CreswickHandmade cows cheeses made from local milk
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