cheesemaker | Boutique cheesemaker back in the winners circle

Canterbury boutique cheesemaker Karikaas has once again featured on the national stage.

A consistent winner of awards over many years, Karikaas Natural Dairy Products, which is celebrating 40 years of cheesemaking in 2024, won two trophies at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Gala Dinner in Hamilton.

General manager and cheesemaker Diana Hawkins says while winning the trophies was ‘‘fantastic’’, being one of three finalists selected for the Sustainability award was personally really pleasing.

‘‘It’s one of those invisible things, and great to get the recognition,’’ she says.

‘‘There is only ever one winner (of the sustainability award), but it was nice to do so well because that is part of who we are as a company.”

It was an award Karikaas was also nominated for in the previous year, and it was great the company continued to be recognised for the work being done, Diana says.

Diana Hawkins, general manager and cheesemaker of Karikaas Natural Dairy Products, celebrates...

Diana Hawkins, general manager and cheesemaker of Karikaas Natural Dairy Products, celebrates Karikaas’ win in the AsureQuality Champion Dutch-Style Cheese category for its young Gouda. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Karikaas was a finalist in four categories, winning two.

It took the highly contested AsureQuality Champion Dutch-Style Cheese for its young Gouda, as well as Fonterra Co-operative Group Champion Original Cheese for Karikaas Natural Dairy Products, Pumahana – a Gouda aged for over two years with peppercorns and a dash of chilli.

‘‘It was a wonderful night on lots of levels and was a fantastic celebration.’’

Diana credits her small team of eight for the success of Karikaas cheeses but says the work starts on Julie Mehrtens’ Oxford farm with the ‘‘beautiful milk’’ – which is turned into cheese.

‘‘We really are a team.

‘‘They are a beautiful bunch, and enjoy what they do, and they are also good at what they do.’’

The company makes about half a dozen different cheese styles of varying ages, and each staff member knows each step along the way in ensuring the quality of the products, so if anyone is sick or having time off, others can step in to fill the gap.

Diana says it is not just a matter of making a cheese today and ‘‘that is that’’.

‘‘We look after them with care and passion. It is very much a team effort,’’ she says.

‘‘It is great for the staff, and great for the community,’’ she says.

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