Cafe Society: Tasmania must dare to be different

Award-winning cheesemaker and businessman Nick Haddow says Tasmania’s future is bright.

Cheesemaker Nick Haddow sees a bright future ahead for Tasmania. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

“WE are standing in a field of flowers and where we go from here is up to us,” says cheesemaker Nick Haddow.

As the year draws to a close, we are pondering the future from the comfort of retro vinyl-clad chairs outside Shoebox Cafe in Elizabeth St.

The busy Hobart street seems a long way from peaceful Bruny Island, where Haddow launched his cheese company 15 years ago, and the Huon Valley, where he owns a dairy farm.

His optimism comes with a caveat. Yes, we are flourishing, but we need to manage growth very carefully to make the most of the abundant opportunities.

In a decade, he hopes Tasmania looks even more like itself.

“I hope it won’t look too different to now,” he says. “The key to success is being true to yourself, so wholesale change is not going to be the best thing.

“What is key to me is tapping into what is great about Tasmania and exploring opportunities that don’t undermine our character.”

Daring to be different is essential.

“Tasmania is becoming more and more comfortable in its own difference,” he says. “There’s potency in that we can all draw on.”

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Haddow, originally from South Australia, has long been drawn to islands and island cultures. Along his cheesemaking journey, he has spent time in the Mull, Orkney and Shetland islands of Scotland, and Sardinia, Corsica and British Columbia.

He adores Tasmania’s island character.

“It’s everything that an island should be. It is isolated, it is a world apart from the rest, it draws on its own energy literally and figuratively, and it is innovative, resourceful and creative.”

Two years ago, Haddow set the future course for Bruny Island Cheese Co when he started a dairy farm at Glen Huon.

He was sourcing milk from other dairies, but now it comes directly from his small mixed herd of Brown Swiss, Normande and Australian Dairy Shorthorn cows.

Becoming a dairy farmer has enabled him to deepen his terroir approach to traditional cheesemaking, much in the way of a winemaker who grows his or her own grapes.

“Great cheese is cheese that represents where it’s come from and its time,” he says.

“I am not interested in making a classic European cheese in Tasmania. To me even the notion is moronic. I can’t make Camembert in Tasmania any more than a French cheesemaker can make one of my cheeses. There are so many variables that cannot be replicated that determine the character of the milk and therefore the cheese.”

It’s an artisan approach that distinguishes his Glen Huon Dairy Co. Most milk in the state comes from big dairies with the same breeds of cows fed on the same species of grasses.

The 2013 Australian Business of the Year Award recipient, who employs 45 people, understands the importance of connecting with artisan customers through storytelling.

“Our supply chain has two links,” he says. “Us and them. It allows us to tell our story directly and we end up building a community of engaged people who are hugely supportive.”

The model is a far cry from the low-yield end of dairying, where Haddow worries we are squandering value-add possibilities.

“Tasmania produces some of the greatest milk in the world, but are we extracting the best value out of that produce by turning so much of it into milk powder?”

Haddow’s move into dairying marks a new era, but it is just one of numerous extensions. In 2016, he started making beer, opening a brewery on Bruny along with his cheesery and sourdough bakery. A new cheese production facility and a second cellar door are planned for the Huon farm.

“I am very bullish about the future of the Huon Valley,” he says. “The stars are aligning for the development of an amazing region of food, wine and nature.”

Haddow is also part of a group that has revived Cradoc Hill Abattoir and the Huon Valley Meat Co. Haddow plans to process and sell organic meat through these channels from next year.

His dairy farm and the pasture across the river he leases from Huon Aquaculture, which is irrigated with outflow from its nearby salmon hatchery, are on track to be certified organic next year.

Food and tourism are part of the same story, he says. “The more we can build that bond, the better we will be. A lot of it happens at a grassroots level, bringing economic benefits to regional communities, so strengthening those experiences outside the cites is a really smart move.”

Nick Haddow is one of our panel guests at the Mercury Live-in-Conversations I am hosting at the Taste of Tasmania. Nick will be talking about tradition in Tassie’s food future on Wednesday. This free series of events kick off on Saturday with a session on the art of sharing at 1pm. For more information, visit thetasteoftasmania.com.au/free-events