Dellendale on shortlist for grand dairy prize

Denmark’s Dellendale Creamery has been named as a finalist in the 2019 Australian Grand Dairy Awards for two of its cheeses, beating out competition from around the country.

Dellendale’s Torndirrup Native Herb and Torndirrup Appenzeller have been named finalists in the flavoured cheese and semi-hard cheese categories.

Both cheeses qualified for the national awards after winning gold medals at the WA State awards earlier in the year.

Torndirrup Native Herb was praised for its rich, zesty pepper and lingering floral aromas, while the Torndirrup Appenzeller was described as a unique Swiss-style golden wash-rind cheese with butterscotch and sweet pineapple notes on the palate.

Dellendale Creamery owner and cheesemaker Chris Vogel said Denmark’s unique environment had provided his cheeses with their own distinctive flavours.

He said he was excited to be named as a finalist in the prestigious national dairy awards and proud to represent Denmark’s local produce national. “It’s so exciting to be named a finalist at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards but I do feel more nervous than last year as we have learnt how important even the runner-up title can be,” Mr Vogel said.

The judges’ comments are very insightful and help to polish your product, which ensures we can achieve the quality that we do.”

This year, over 400 products across 19 categories were critiqued and put to the taste-test at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards. The 54 finalists now await the champion announcement in February when the top product in each category will be revealed and the overall dairy and cheese grand champions will be crowned.