Gold for unique flavours

Carly Palmer manages sales and marketing at Van Diemens Land Creamery.

October 2018 | Haley Manning

VAN DIEMENS Land Creamery won a bounty of gold medals at the Hobart Fine Food Awards in July this year. Former Meander Valley dairy farmers, Jan and Paul Amourgis, who started making ice cream 12 years ago to supplement their income, entered 11 varieties of artisan ice cream and received a gold medal for each, in addition to Champion in Show with their unique Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey ice cream.

The Amourgis’ say their initial plan was to establish their product at foodie events such as Agfest and the Deloraine Craft Fair, but this rapidly expanded into selling wholesale to cafés and restaurants around Tasmania and from a punt on Hobart’s Constitution Dock. Fast forward and business has “boomed” to such an extent they have given up farming entirely to focus on the café they built five years ago at Christmas Hills (opposite the Raspberry Farm).

Carly Palmer, the Café’s Sales and Marketing representative, suggests it is the supply of fresh milk and cream sourced from the surrounding lush green pastures that sets the Creamery part from other ice cream makers who may no longer use fresh dairy products because they mass produce.

“Visitors to our café will notice large milk vats and see the ice cream being made through the production room windows in our taste, sales and viewing centre,”

she said. Jan and Paul say what also gives their business an award-winning edge is the ability to create unique flavour combinations in their ice cream, sorbet and gelato by using fresh, local Tasmanian produce – including walnuts, home-grown lemons, olive oil, honey and berries, while using minimal additives and preservatives.