Producer Profile … Coal River Farm
Handmade chocolates and cheeses are the stars of Coal River Farm’s award-winning range of gourmet goodies. Read on to find out why they are so special, and what’s on offer from Coal River Farm this Christmas at Hill Street.
Coal River Farm is a small producer in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley, an area known for its outstanding vineyards. Established in 2015 by Daniel and Melanie Leesong, who had careers in the legal and political sectors, the business includes a farm shop and restaurant, small batch cheese and chocolate making, vineyard and most recently, stand-alone retail outlets in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Perth, and Fremantle.
Hill Street has stocked Coal River Farm products since their inception, with the range starting off as a few cheeses, and then expansion into chocolates. The range has grown since then, with the newest additions being their Coal River Pantry products such as relish, jam, apple paste and cheese accompaniments - apple paste and Lavosh crackers flavoured with caramelised onion and Tasmanian sea salt.
Head Cheesemaker at Coal River Farm, Tim Gadischke, has been making cheese for 20 years, seven of those with Coal River Farm. He says it’s the quality of the local milk which makes the difference. We would venture to say, it also has something to do with the quality of the cheesemaking team at Coal River Farm.
Tim works alongside his wife Candis, another very experienced cheesemaker, in a team of five cheesemakers. He says his favourite cheese is the multi-award-winning Ash Brie, which is a triple cream brie rolled in activated carbon which gives it a creamy, nutty flavour. Their Farm Blue won this year’s 2023 Royal Melbourne Food Awards ahead of 59 other competitors across Australia. Coal River also earned a silver award in the mould surface or washed rind cheese category for their Triple Cream Brie and Ashed Brie, while their Blue cheese took home a gold award. Their Washed Rind was awarded the gold medal at the World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy in 2019, and both the Ashed Brie and Blue Cheese won bronze.
The other side of Coal River Farm’s business is chocolate. The chocolate-making team is headed by David McKenzie, a master chocolatier who can create almost anything from chocolate having worked in Australia and Japan plying his trade.
In the lead-up to Christmas, Hill Street stores will be stocking a range of Coal River Farm chocolates including their Raspberry White Chocolate, Holly Leaves in milk, white and dark chocolate, and Fruit and Nut Trees. We’re also proud to be the only retailer outside of Coal River Farm’s own stores stocking their delicious and meticulously finished individual chocolates, and boxed chocolates in packs of eight. We’ll also have their delightful Chocolate Advent Calendars in limited numbers across most Hill Street stores, so be quick.
