Gabrielle and Alan run Kervella at their property in East Takaka, sitting under the Pikikirunga mountain range in Golden Bay.
Their story stands out amongst NZ artisan cheesemakers. Gabrielle is a Takaka native, but started Kervella on a farm in Western Australia to enable her to raise her children. She has long had an interest in sustainable organic farming and food, and noticed how this improved the health of her goats. She lived in France for 20 years where she apprenticed to master cheesemakers, then took on the challenge of bringing these skills to Australia. She became an award-winning cheesemaker, even judging cheese back in France.
Alan grew up in Eastbourne, England, and was fascinated by cheesemaking since delivering newspapers to the local dairy factory aged 9. After a stint as an electrician at a dairy factory in South Africa, he became a dairy process engineer and master cheesemaker, consulting around the world. They met after Alan contacted Gabrielle to sponsor him into Australia. Soon after, Gabrielle visited home and they decided to sell the farm and set up in Golden Bay in 2008.
They make a unique range of seasonal cheeses using milk from their neighbour’s herd who farms sustainably and organically. They experiment relentlessly, using their own wild cultures and yeasts designed for the modern gut. They have a particular interest in raw milk cheeses, being one of less than a handful of accredited raw milk cheese makes in New Zealand.
It’s a pleasure to have Kervella Cheese in our Cheese Wheel whanau.
