6 Cheeses that will change your life!

I tried all our Hunter Belle cheeses so you don’t have to… but after reading this you’ll surely want to!

Let’s just start by saying… it was a tough gig! 6 delicious local cheeses over 5 days… spare a thought. :)

I asked Lauren if there is some kind of method to this, you know 'start with the soft and work your way up to the hard' and she advised me to just dig in… and start eating… so that's what I did.

Ok so here we go…

Herb & Garlic Fetabelle - Soft, salty and full of flavour! It’s hard to think of a dish that this beautiful marinated cheese wouldn’t top. I had mine over a smoked trout salad and the results were delicious. The best part about this cheese is that it has been preserved in olive oil, so if submerged it will last for months… as if!

Blue Moon - I’m a big blue cheese fan and this one did not disappoint. Perfect on a cheese platter atop a slice of nectarine, this variety is milder and harder than your average blue. A great place to start if you’re new to the world of blue cheese.

Goldenbelle - This is a nice alternative to a camembert, stronger in flavour and prettier too! You are immediately hit in the face with it’s ‘sticky’ smell but don’t let this fool you. This guy is a complex dude, with its rich notes an absolute delight to your taste buds.

The Chesworth Family down at Hunter BelleDairy have been milking cows along the Hunter river for over 100 years. A love for cows is certainly in their blood, and when the 6th generation dairy farmer Geoff Chesworth and his wife Tania were milking over 400 holstiens in Denman NSW in 2007 the real struggle of farming took it's toll. With one of the worst droughts they had farmed through, the young Chesworth family decided it was time to hang up the milk cups and move on from their dairying days.

As they say, 'when one door closes another one opens', and boy didn't that door open! 

Geoff and Tania threw themselves into the deep end submerging themselves in a life of cheese, taking over a small cheese factory and growing it from strength to strength. With son Jason soon joining the business, and wife Annie, the Chesworths have put their passion for dairy to good use and created the Hunter Belle Dairy Co. that is today.

Ok, so back to the part where I am eating all the cheese.

Vintage Cheddar - This one is actually a staple in my Your Food Collective orders. Aged for around 18 months, the vintage cheddar is bitey and firm. You can enjoy this cheese sliced on crackers or on toastie. It’s a fantastic all rounder. 

Black Magic - This mysterious wheel is unique to Hunter Belle. A decadent triple cream brie with a fermented garlic centre and just a hint of balsamic vinegar. This one is not for the faint hearted, it’s sweet, savoury, strong and soft all at the same time.

Labelle - A soft, labna style cheese made from yogurt. The Labelle cheese is smooth and tangy. Admittedly I never paired this cheese with anything as I ate it straight out of the jar, from the fridge as a snack. Warning: this cheese is highly addictive.

So there you go… our journey through the Hunter Belle range is over, for now! Now it's your turn to give it a go and do it your way. If you haven’t tried any of these varieties, I suggest you do yourself a flavour and dive into the delicious world of local, farmhouse cheese. You won’t regret it!

Shop the full range of Hunter Belle cheese here.