18 Say cheese:

How hippie lifestyle led to a thriving business.

Rick Thorpe (above left) and his wife Carol have their OE to thank for their award-winning business, Waimata Cheese.

“It went way back to our younger days,” says Rick. “We were travelling in Europe and Britain and we stayed on a farm in Wales and they were making cheese there.

“We were sort of into the hippie lifestyle, organics and things, way back in the 1980s.

“My wife got super keen on the cheese making so when we came back to New Zealand she had that sort of incubating away, that idea, and then it wasn’t that long after that she started off on a small scale and built the business up. So she’s really the instigator of the cheese business.”

The Thorpes have been making cheese on the banks of the Waimata River in Gisborne under the Waimata label for 25 years now.

While they produce a wide range of products, Thorpe says, “The big three would probably be haloumi, white mould and blue.”

Their haloumi range has been a gold-medal winner at cheese awards and Thorpe says they produce the most haloumi of any manufacturer in New Zealand.

Until two years ago, they had their own dairy farm which they used to produce their range. They’ve now swapped out their cattle for sheep and have added sheep’s milk cheese to their inventory. They are still making cows’ milk cheese but their milk is now mostly sourced from a local farmer.

Thorpe says the decision to switch to sheep was motivated by their desire to find “better ways to do things”.

“As a specialty cheese producer we could see the potential of sheep’s milk and cheese. And from a farming point of view, we could see the benefits environmentally.

“It was a more intensive use of the land. Sheep are definitely a step in the right direction to meet some of those concerns that people have about the negative impacts of cows.

“We don’t have all the pugging (soil damage), we don’t have all the piles of cow s**t everywhere that we used to have.

“And, of course, I love breeding the animals and being involved on the farm.”

As it is still a relatively new sector in New Zealand, Thorpe says that some people can be averse to sampling products made with sheep’s milk.

But Waimata Cheese have created a product to help ease Kiwis into the experience. They hope to launch their 50/50 blend of cow and sheep milk gouda cheese this spring.

“We’ve done trials and it’s a great product,” he says.

Thorpe says the beauty of the combination is that it not only tastes good but that mixing the two reduces the price point.

“Sheep (milk cheese) on its own can be quite an expensive product whereas you get the best of both with the blend.”

As well as cheese-making, the Thorpes are also heavily involved in horticulture, growing apples and persimmons. Thorpe says the persimmons are a great accompaniment to their cheese.

“Camembert with ripe persimmon is beautiful. They certainly complement each other,” he says.

But much like sheep’s milk cheese, persimmons are still considered somewhat of a niche product in New Zealand.

They have been growing the fruit, which Thorpe describes as a kind of hybrid between an apple and a peach, for 30 years.

Thorpe says persimmons are extremely popular overseas, where much of their product is exported, but they are also enjoying a growing profile in New Zealand.

“Probably Australia’s our largest market and then Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. A little bit to Japan, China and the US. So yeah, quite diverse.”

“But even in New Zealand now we sell more and more every year on the local market as people learn how nice they are.

“They’re not a strong flavour but they have a beautiful texture.”

With so many aspects to their busy business, it’s all hands to the pump for the Thorpe family.

The Thorpes’ three sons and daughter-in-law all work in their various ventures.

“That’s part of the motivation for looking into new areas and expanding the horticulture business and diversifying the cheese because these guys have got involved and they’re committed to it.

“It’s sort of become very much an inter-generational business and we’re working for that long-term dream. We feel quite blessed that they want to work with us. It’s brilliant.”

“Camembert with ripe persimmon is beautiful. They certainly complement each other.”

– Rick Thorpe