RICHARD Thomas used to consider himself a man of science.
The much-awarded cheese artisan Richard Thomas at the De Bortoli Winery in Yarra Glen. Picture: Aaron Francis Source: The Australian
RICHARD Thomas used to consider himself a man of science.
The raffish cheesemaker, whose expertise has contributed to some of Australia's best-known cheeses and cheese-making operations, was last night handed the Maggie Beer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Food, recognising more than 30 years' involvement with Australia's artisan cheese industry.
But most of the one-time dairy scientist's best work, he says, has meant shrugging off the shackles of science and embracing environmental factors in his craft.
"These days I try desperately not to let science interfere with my cheese-making," says the much-awarded Mr Thomas.
Recalling life as a dairy scientist last night, Mr Thomas said he was happy travelling the path of logic until he stepped into an Italian deli on Melbourne's Lygon Street in 1971 to taste the great northern Italian blue cheese gorgonzola for the first time.
That day, everything about his perception of cheese changed and, 10 years later, he chucked in science and his job with a one-way ticket to Italy.
His modest plan: "To make a great Australian blue cheese."
And while for many years he pursued the craft of making cheese as a technician, he finally came to understand that great cheese was really all about environment "and all the right, wild bugs being in the grass and the air", not formulaic equations.
Last night, at the delicious magazine 2010 Produce Awards, Thomas added yet another trophy to his shelf.
These days, he shares his time between making simple, fresh curd cheeses for some of Melbourne's best chefs, operating a cheese maturation facility (an affineur) at De Bortoli Wines' Yarra Valley cellar door, and a new venture making butter for premium restaurants in Dandenong. He credits his discovery of Italy's most famous blue cheese, and the trip in 1981 when he lived near Milan "to uncover the secrets of gorgonzola", as the pivotal moments in his career.
"I spent 10 years trying to get to Italy and then the next 30 trying to make the stuff," he says.
In 1983, returning from Europe, he joined a new eastern Victorian cheesery to make the subsequently famous Gippsland Blue. "In 1983 there were six tons of blue cheese made in Australia, and it was all made by me at Gippsland," says Mr Thomas, 63.
The cheesemaker says debate surrounding the use of unpasteurised or so-called "raw" milk to make cheese is pivotal to Australia's future as a cheese-producing nation. He is ardently for the relaxation of laws that prevent importation of most unpasteurised milk cheeses and the making of raw milk cheese here.
"Australia's Specialist Cheesemakers Association has held back the industry by continually opposing reform that would allow us to make better cheeses in this country," he said.