| 7 RURAL PEOPLE » Belle Chevre Creamery Goat lovers producing award-winning cheeses Sue Russell Nestled a couple of kilometres from Northland’s Waipu is a thriving boutique goat milk cheese making cottage industry. For owners Jennifer and David Rodrigues what is important is not the scale of cheese production but rather the overarching simple philosophy to pour their heart and soul into every part of the process. A true paddock to plate journey that Jennifer says they wouldn’t have any other way. “This is a fabulous community where many people carry the same life philosophy as we do. We’re just about living a simple life, taking care of our animals and the environment and getting a lot of enjoyment from supplying top quality cheeses.” Living with the goats on 40 acres, the couple feel very blessed. Offering sales from home-base and from weekly markets Jennifer says demand is growing for the unique range of cheese she creates. These include Chevre (goat in French) sold in logs, marinated goat cheese, feta, zalloumi and two very popular creations – Manaia Ma and Bon Bons. Being self-taught and carrying very much a pioneering attitude Jennifer joined the NZ Specialist Cheesemakers Association in 2017. Two years later, her careful approach to cheese making, coupled with an innate capability saw her awarded the trophy for Home Crafted Cheese and Cheesemaker of the Year. “That was a bumper year, obtaining MPI registration which meant I could start trading commercially.” And in 2020 Belle Chevre Creamery won three gold and three silver medals in the NZSCA Champion of Cheese Awards. Manaia Ma is a pyramid shaped cheese, named after the area’s distinct local mountain; a French mold ripened cheese, ashed to black and full of surprises when cut. Waipu couple Jennifer and David Rodrigues supply top quality goat cheeses from their Belle Chevre Creamery. This is sold at 21 days. Bon Bon’s are very popular with customers as well. Belle Chevre Creamery blends its basic cheese with freeze dried raspberry powder and locally sourced honey. These are then formed into ball shapes and dipped in melted dark chocolate. Freeze-dried raspberries complete the outer layer. Liking goats is an essential part of the success equation Jennifer says. “We both really like their personalities. They are a highly trainable family pet and produce a fantastic amount of protein through their milk and meat.” Belle Chevre Creamery goats are free to range and provided with good nightly accommodation that also keeps them inside in times of poor weather. Taking care of the goats runs fundamental to the whole business. When they first began they had no experience of large animal handling. Originally the aim was to supply goat meat but, Jennifer says, that wasn’t something they could do once they got to know the goats. “I do feel though that the goat meat market needs to be developed here. I would like to see a registered mobile abattoir operating. I think that would work well.” The business has grown sufficiently to justify employment of a farm worker two days a week. Jennifer says one of the hard things is to decide whether the kids are going to remain a pet. They have to be disbudded within two weeks. “We love the little kids and take good care of them. We do take them right off the mother before they can build strong attachments. “ Another point of difference for us is that we have a good spread of when the kids arrive, unlike most commercial goat milk farming operation where they want the kidding window to be just a few weeks. We do this to ensure we have peak milk during the peak demand period of Christmas and the summer months.” Cheese varieties are made between August through to April, giving the couple some necessary down-time. At this stage Jennifer says the aim is to grow a little bit and take on another employee to give them more time off. “We are going to stay very small though. That appeals to us and I think cheese-lovers like sourcing cheese from small cottage-type businesses.” Each year a new letter from the alphabet is chosen, from which all the goats are named. This year, that letter is ‘B’. Finding names starting with that letter is a mission in itself. This season Jennifer’s favourite name happens to be Beryl. Bookkeeping • Accounting • Taxation Business Setup • Planning • Advisory Certified Xero Advisers 09 431 3068 support@mytwocents.nz www.mytwocents.nz Collaborating with small business owners to create success through exceptional business support
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