Thomastown’s Floridia Cheese wins swag of trophies at Dairy Industry Association Awards

A CHEESEMAKER in Melbourne’s north has taken out the top award at this year’s Dairy Industry Association Awards.

Mauro Montalto has been crowned Australian Champion Cheesemaker. Picture: Josie Hayden

THOMASTOWN’S Floridia Cheese, the oldest family owned Italian cheese manufacturer in the country, has cleaned up at this year’s Dairy Industry Association Awards.

Floridia received three trophies for products achieving highest in class in Australia, while they also took home two golds and 14 silvers on a state level.

However, the big prize went to Floridia’s co-owner Mauro Montalto, who was crowned Australian Champion Cheesemaker for the company’s signature ricotta.

“I’m pretty proud, but it was totally unexpected,” Mr Montalto said.

“It’s a total team effort and to be able to nurture and protect the quality of our product in this day and age is something special.”

Floridia, run by three generations of the Montalto family, has been making traditional Italian-style cheeses for over 62 years.

It began from humble beginnings in a tin shed using little copper pots over a wood fire, to making cheeses for friends and then for local continental grocery stores.

The Montaltos employ 60 locals in their Thomastown plant to help process 30 million litres of milk a year into three specialised cheese categories – fresh unripened, pasta-filata and hard rind.