2024 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Award winners revealed

A dynamic dairy duo who want to put Aussie cheese on the map are one step closer to their dream after winning a prestigious national gong.

Long Paddock’s Romain Ries, Gaetan Chapon and Alex Coutts celebrate their delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards win. Picture: Jason Edwards

Ivan Larcher may be Castlemaine’s ‘cheese whisperer’ and ‘cheese doctor’ — but from today, he’ll be known as the big cheese.

His company Long Paddock, which he runs with business partner Alison Lansley, has won a prestigious delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards for its award-winning dairy products.

The regional fromagerie and cheese school will be among six producers, including two from Victoria, to be honoured at a prestigious ceremony in Sydney on Thursday.

Long Paddock nabbed the ‘From the Dairy’ trophy, beating hundreds of other entrants across the country to the post.

The French-born cheesemaker debuted the company four years ago after spending the last two decades travelling the globe as a cheese consultant.

With the help of Lansley, the dynamic duo’s dairy is now served in some of the top restaurants across Melbourne and Victoria, including the Lake House in Daylesford, Rockpool Bar and Grill and Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters.

“We’re pretty humbled as a young company to receive the award,” general manager Gaetan Chapon said.

“The public recognition and endorsement from chefs is humbling.”

Chapon said Long Paddock’s ambition was to put Aussie cheese on the map.

“We want to create a strong identity for Australian cheese,” he said.

“We are a hybrid between Australian terroir and French skills and knowledge … it’s Australian cheese with a French accent.”

Hundreds of Australian farmers, growers and producers were considered for this year’s awards, selected by a national judging panel made up of A-class chefs including Jo Barrett, Andrew McConnell and Alla Wolf-Tasker.

The winners were recognised across four major categories – dairy, earth, paddock and sea – and the judges also gave a special award to Beechworth’s Discovered Wildfoods for its outstanding innovation in sustainability.

Queensland’s Chris Bolton Fishing won the overall Producer of the Year Award.

delicious. editor in chief Krysia Bonkowski said: “For the past 19 years, the awards have unearthed the finest farmers, makers, fishers and growers in the nation and, in the process, captured the evolution of the Australian food industry.”

The full list of winners will feature in the September issue of delicious., which goes on sale on Thursday.