For the first time I was invited to assist in the judging of the 2016 SA Dairy Championships, 72 judges evaluating 895 dairy products entered by 85 producers, both record numbers. A total of 23 products received a Qualité Award, and one of these was named as the South African Dairy Product of the Year 2016, namely Dalewood Fromage Huguenot 12 months matured. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Huguenot
Dalewood Fromage Estate Cheese from a pastured Jersey herd in the Winelands!
I have driven past Dalewood Farm for many years on my way to and from Franschhoek, but had read that one could only enter by invitation. Yesterday a blackboard on the R45 invited me onto the farm, and the surprise Cheesery Shop, a Factory shop offering the cheese range at reduced prices to the public.
Dalewood Fromage is owned by Rob and Petrina Visser, who keep a very low profile. The Dalewood cheeses are made from Jersey milk from the farm’s own herd. Their pasture is bio-dynamically managed, and the herd is not treated with antibiotics air hormones. Dalewood cheeses do not contain preservatives, flavorants, or colourants.
A friendly sales lady greeted me, and allowed me to taste their Boland Continue reading →
‘Big Cheese’ Kobus Mulder launches ‘Cheeses of South Africa’ at Reuben’s Cape Town!
The Wordsworth launch lunch of Agri-Expo Dairy Manager Kobus Mulder’s book ‘Cheeses of South Africa’ at Reuben’s at the One&Only Cape Town yesterday was most enjoyable, with great company, good food and wine, a charming hotel ambassador, and entertaining author/speaker.
Gorry Bowes-Taylor has been organising book launch lunches for Wordsworth for years, and will be a comedian in a next life, not being the most diplomatic lunch hostess, but is loved for making her guests laugh, and for finding new venues at which to hold the book launches. As I have written before, the lunches have a cult following by some of her regulars, who are not really interested in the subject of the book or the author, but who find value in the R225 three course launch lunch, excellent quality wines, the chance of making new friends at the table, the chance of winning a prize in the lucky draw, and for being entertained by Gorry and the author/speaker. She did not disappoint with her lunch organisation yesterday. Wordsworth sets up a table to sell the discounted launch book at such a function. Continue reading →
Franschhoek is the Big Cheese in Dalewood Fromage winning 2013 Dairy Product of Year!
Franschhoek has shown its quality of winemaking, by having two of its vignerons (Boekenhoutskloof and Chamonix) being named the top winery by Platter in the past two years. Now the Winelands village is the Cheese Capital of South Africa too, in that Dalewood Fromage has been awarded the 2013 Dairy Product of the Year, for its six month matured Huguenot cheese, at the DuPont Qualité Awards dinner of the SA Dairy Championships.
Dalewood Fromage is located on the outskirts of Franschhoek, and is known for its excellent quality cheeses. Its Huguenot cheese is the largest wheel of cheese made in our country, has a semi-hard brushed rind, and is slowly matured for six months. It has an intense flavour, with nutty nuances. Cheesemaker Rob Visser developed the cheese ten years ago. SA Dairy Championships’ chief judge Kobus Mulder said of the cheese: ‘If this cheese should be available in the Haute Savoie region of France, those discerning cheese experts would appreciate it no end’.
Twelve dairy products were awarded the Qualité mark of dairy excellence: Simonsberg Matured Gouda, Woolworths Mild Cheddar White, Woolworths Salted Butter (all three produced by Parmalat), Klein River Grana, Klein River SA Gruyere, Clover Processed cheese slices, Dalewood Fromage six month matured Huguenot cheese, Woolworths Magical Mousse Swirls (made by Fair Cape Dairies), Fairview Chevin with Garlic and Herbs, Woolworths plain fat free smooth cottage cheese (made by Lancewood), Langbaken Karoo Cheese’s Karoo Crumble, and Rhodes Food Group’s Fior di Latte. Interesting is the domination of the Woolworths brand on this list, although their products were made by three different suppliers! An additional 95 dairy products were awarded SA Champions, out of the total of about 800 dairy products entered by 69 artisanal and commercial producers. A team of 59 judges, including dairy specialists and food writers, evaluated the top dairy products.
The SA Dairy Championships results reflect the passion and quality that goes into the making of dairy products, not only by artisanal producers, but also by the large dairy companies.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfoilio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage