Nick's obsession with great cheese started when he was given a bucket of fresh goat's milk whilst working as a chef in South Australia's Eden Valley. Since then, cheese has taken him around the world before it eventually landed him on the stunningly beautiful Bruny Island in southern Tasmania. Nick is highly regarded business innovator and entrepreneur. His business, Bruny Island Cheese Co, which he founded in 2003, has received many accolades including being awarded the Telstra Australian Business of the Year in 2013.
Current work
Nick is a champion of artisan cheese in Australia and is a mad-keen advocate for Raw Milk Cheese (which he is happy to rant on about any chance he gets). His love of traditional food has taken him all around the world.
Now a passionate Tasmanian, Nick spends much of his time promoting the state and supporting, showcasing and mentoring many other artisan producers. His passion for small island living resulted in him being awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2014 to study the small island economies around the world.
Nick also has a successful media career that includes his role as co-star of all four series of Gourmet Farmer, which is screened in Australia and around the world. He has co-authored The Deli Book (published by Murdoch, 2012) and the Gourmet farmer Goes Fishing (published by Murdoch, 2015) with his mates Matthew Evans and Ross O’Meara and has recently written down all he knows about cheese in his new book, Milk.Made which was published internationally in August 2016 to rave reviews.
Talking Points
Reiventing the Wheel
For a cheese maker, Bruny Island was a dumb place to live - an island off an island on the south coast of Tasmanian with a population of only 600 people, and a handful of tourists and no dairy farms. Not exactly the smartest place to start making a highly perishable product, to be marketed to people that lived thousands of kilometres away. Bruny Island Cheese Co. was the most stupid, most naïve, most ambitious plan conceivable. This is the story of Bruny Island Cheese Co. and how we made it work.
Reiventing the Wheel
Nothing changes, if nothing changes</b>
How we abandoned the traditional supply chain model of selling cheese and reinvented our business to one which sells 100% of its cheese directly to its consumers. Nick will discuss how to build a business based on Relationship Marketing and how through the success of his Cheese Club, Bruny Island Cheese Co broke all the rules and thrived
Nothing changes, if nothing changes</b>
Why dairy cows are the next battery
Nick takes a look at the dramatic changes that have taken place in the dairy industry around the world in the past few decades and why the modern dairy farm is not a beautiful thing. From loss of breed biodiversity to the culling of calves, this is a gritty discussion on where one of our most fundamental foods comes from and how we, as consumers, can help support the dairy farmers that are fighting back.
Why dairy cows are the next battery
A history of the world through fermented foods
Fermentation is the cornerstone of almost every cuisine around the world. Through fermentation, humans were able to preserve their food and stopping being subsistence hunter gatherers. Nick picks a selection of fermented foods and tells their fascinating story and how each one influenced the development of the modern world.
A history of the world through fermented foods
Guided Tastings, Workshops and Masterclasses
* These talks can be offered in conjunction with a tasting.Guided Tastings, Workshops and Masterclasses
1. Cheese 101 in 60 minutes
In this chocker-block masterclass, Nick will teach you everything he knows about cheese… in 60 minutes. From understanding milk, to how cheese is made, to the different styles of cheese and how to serve and store cheese. Includes a cheese tasting and cheesemaking demonstration.
2. Cheese + Beer = Happiness
Nick is a passionate believer that cheese and beer and more natural bedfellows than cheese and wine. And to make his point, in 2016 Nick build a brewery alongside his cheesery on Bruny Island. In this workshop, Nick will guide you though a structured tastings of several different cheeses and beer and discuss why he loves the combinations.
3. 4 Animals, 6 Cheeses, 3 Beers and 1 Whisky
This is a tasting like no other. Join Nick as he guides you through the world of cheese and how to match them successfully with beer and whisky.
4. Aging Gracefully
A fascinating class where Nick will show you the dark art of maturation by tasting several cheese at two different ages. This is a seriously interesting class that will take you appreciation for traditional cheese to the net level.
