Whether tossed through a salad, barbecued to golden perfection or whipped up into a dessert, Mediterranean cheeses are a miracle in versatility: there’s one for everything. If we had it our way, all our fetta would be handmade by a Ya Ya dressed in black whose cute little grandson led their cute little goats across the hillside overlooking the sea.
Unfortunately this can’t always be the case, so we’ve found the next best thing.
The Gavriel family from Coorparoo-based Olympus Cheese use passed down Cypriot and Greek traditions to create homemade cheese less than 5km from Brisbane’s CBD.
From haloumi to lemon-pepper baked ricotta, every bit of good stuff that emerges from the factory is made with milk from Queensland Dairy Farmers and uses animal-free rennet. Properly vego-friendly? Tick! The family put the farmers at the top of their list of inspirations… after their kids, who once encouraged the creation of a chocolate and hazelnut infused ricotta. Child prodigies, we say.
Like their country-living inspirations the Olympus team are early birds, and it’s easy to see why: several varieties of fetta, ricotta (baked fresh) and haloumi pour forth every day for both domestic and bulk sale*, earning an awards list not to be scoffed at, including the title of Champion Fetta from the Australian Grand Dairy Awards a couple of years back.
Looking for a calcium kick from Brisbane’s own champion cheese-makers?
Suckers for hot, squeaky grilled haloumi on paper plates may have already gotten their fix, regularly supplying their cheese to festivals such as Paniyiri and Regional Flavours. Those with an aversion to crowds can find the range in Olympus’ stockists around Brisbane.
*Side note: Frankly, we don’t see why there’s a difference. Why can’t we order a 20kg tub of marinated fetta? We’d go at it with a spoon.
Words by Jessimin Horder
