CRESSIDA CAINS

Music by

CRESSIDA CAINS

CHEESE MAKER

Robertson, NSW, Australia

It was a strange night, in 2017. My friend Annabelle Hickson and I were hired as photographer and videographer on a 5 day event. That night, we found ourselves alone in a big house. Our host had left a hamper basket full of local delicacies for our dinner. We pulled out the crackers, fig jam, biscuits and at the bottom, I could smell something very familiar… a French cheese? But wait, we opened the wrapping, gosh it smelled good and strong, and it wasn’t French at all. It came from a few kilometres down the road, from beautiful Robertson… Read More

Photos I took on the farm…

Featured

See full gallery

My first thought was “Thank god”! My immediate second thought was “This cheese smells and tastes so good I’ll offer my services for free to whoever made it.” Back home, I looked up my photos and film clips on the SD cards, I had taken a quick blurry shot of the cheese wrapping to remember the maker. I searched up the name, and landed on a one page website (it was a ling time ago) with a strange email address involving pheasants… I wrote an email; something like “Your cheese is so delicious I want to come film and photograph your dairy for free”. A few days later, I got a response from Cressida. She probably thought I was deranged, but she remained very kind and welcoming. We made an appointment, then Annie and I came to Pecora Dairy a few weeks later.

When Cressida had asked if I had a four-wheel drive, it wasn’t to make conversation. The road to the dairy is pretty epic. We had to cross a few cattle grids and play “Russian Mountains” - roller coaster in French - made from the deep grooves left by tractors. Of course, I’m a city girl when in Australia, I don’t have a 4WD… It shook us a fair bit.

The landscape was worth the bumpy road: tall eucalypt trees, grass so green and fat you want to eat it for entree, a large pond, and finally a brick house near agricultural corrugated iron buildings in a chic taupe colour. Ewes were polka-dotting the fields as if in a happy Rosa Bonheur painting. Cressida looked like a movie star with her beautiful face shaded by her felt hat. We were soon joined by her husband Michael with his bright smile, vivid red farmer’s checked shirt and jumper. They’re both absolutely passionate about what they do. We can tell!

They explained with enthusiasm how they left their city jobs and city lifestyle to start Pecora Dairy not long ago (at the time). The idea was planted when they used to come in the region on holidays, milking a goat and making cheese with the milk they froze each time they stayed over. They loved the experience; it became what life was all about. They started by finding a land with grass, shade, and a river. Then they selected a type of ewe - sheep cheese is their favourite - that would be able to live in a lot of humidity and not get a foot disease: the East Friesian. Then, they created a assemblage of grass seeds and planted a secret selection of the most delicious, flavoursome, and nutritious grass and herbs for their ewes to live the dream and make the creamiest tastiest milk.

At the time of our first visit (there were many more after that), they were head deep into a massive 5-year-in-the-making application to be the first Australian dairy to make raw milk cheese since the laws forbidding it. The film above was made when their first raw milk cheese, called Yarrawa from the land and terroir it is made on, was just released.

Cressida and Michael have managed to study their terroir, study cheese making with the best teachers in France and the UK. They have experimented with grass, fermenting techniques and many other variables. Their cheeses have won numerous prizes and have a solid reputation amongst the best chefs in the country. I hope you get to try them one day. Maybe start with a fresh Bloomy, cut a slice on a fresh sourdough slice or a baguette, crack some black pepper, cut a few strands of chives, and embark for a trip to heaven. Or visit their Pecora Cheese and Wine café-restaurant-bar, in Robertson, and buy yourself a cheese platter with a glass of cleverly curated wine.

Learn more about Cressida in my interview below.

Connect with Cressida

@pecoradairy | pecoradairy.com.au | @pecoracheeseandwine

INTERVIEW

My name comes from a Shakespeare play - Troilus and Cressida. I have always loved the fact that my name was unusual (in the Australia I grew up in)….
I was born in Sydney and lived there until I was 10 years old. We then moved to the Southern Highlands of NSW. Back then it was much more of a rural area with all the community that went with a regional and farming area. After going away to university and then working for some years in Sydney, I have ended up back in the Southern Highlands. My husband Michael and I bought our farm in Robertson about 17 years ago. Robertson is where the film Babe was filmed. That usually places it for most people!
Just English, I'm afraid.....though my husband was sweetly impressed with my halting schoolgirl French when we went to France this year....I'm good at ordering food and booze!
I wear lots of hats actually. I co-founded and run the Pecora Group which is a dairy farm, a cheese brand and a cheese and wine bar called Pecora Cheese and Wine, which is in our main St of Robertson. I also do some work in my community. I'm passionate about agriculture in Australia, in particular women and small business.
In Robertson, we are privileged enough to have three art galleries. We have many wonderful local artists and I try and view their work regularly. Some of my favourites are Lucinda Mcdonald, Penny Simons, and Bronwyn Berman.
Not at all! It's amazing where life takes you.....I studied in wine and worked in the wine industry for many years. In some ways wine and cheese is quite similar in that they are both fermented. Similar principles to each.
I think probably buying a land in Robertson and starting a sheep dairy. Building a business, particularly in Agriculture, from nothing could very well be called extravagant! Other than that, I think it would be our most recent trip to Europe. We took two months away from our business and did a deep dive into cheese, particularly raw milk. We went to England, Wales, France and Spain. After 13 years of building our business in Australia it was so inspiring to emerse ourselves in the European cheesemaking scene. And we went without kids, which seemed super naughty! But ours are now grown and independent.
I love photographing the sheep on our farm. We are lucky enough to live in a beautiful place, I love playing with the light and the weather in my photos. I also am completely in love with my sheep! They are an endless source of fascination to me……
For our business, when we became the first cheesemakers in Australia licensed to make a raw milk cheese. For me personally, when I won the Rural Women's Award. My husband pushed me into applying and I'm so glad I did. I've had a huge amount of growth, self-confidence and opportunities from that experience.
Starting a sheep dairy and cheesery in Australia. When we began in 2011, there was so little information to help us get started.
We just made everything up through trial and error. Thankfully the cheesemaking industry in Australia is now more generous with information…..
Kindness - There is so much awfulness and misery in the world right now, I believe the way we treat each other every day can make such a difference. Everyone is going through a different journey, sometimes that can be very difficult. Leading with kindness and compassion makes the world easier to live in.
Courage - I try to be on a continual journey of learning. I aim to do things differently, to not just keep doing the things I'm proficient at, but to step into the unknown with courage. Knowing that I may fail, but also that I'll learn and hopefully grow in the process.
Freedom - I've worked for myself for a long time, and I am very grateful that life has given me that opportunity. I can choose what I do each day (within reason....) and I really value that.
Boots…..
My collection of boots?!
I'm not a massive collector of things. I think I value experiences more. Our most recent trip to Europe, the things we did, saw and some of the people we met through my husband Michael's Nuffield connections, had a profound influence on me. I'll treasure those memories.
Any sort of pasta. I love every one!
The Lincoln Lawyer
London Grammar
Australia....but second would be Spain. I went there this for the first year and I just loved it. From the food to the architecture to the way of life....just so good.