A Robertson farm has pipped its competitors to win a prestigious national award.
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Pecora Dairy won the overall From the Dairy category at the delicious. Produce Awards at Sydney's State Theatre on Monday, August 19.
Co-owners and cheese makers Cressida and Michael McNamara won the award for their raw milk feta.
Mrs McNamara said she and her husband were pleased to take out the award.
"We feel really honoured to receive such an award which is in recognition of the immense amount of work we put into making our cheeses," she said.
The Australian-first cheese has been a labour of love for the dairy duo.
"We've also done a lot of work with raw milk cheese. We have Australia's first raw milk cheese, made completely with no heat."
The process of making the cheese fascinates foodies and producers alike.
"I think people are really interest in province of their food and they want to know where it comes from. Everything from the soil to milking animals and the science of it," Mrs McNamara said.
"It's one of the most complex forms of milk. To be able to have that is really exciting."
The raw cheese milk was a few years in the making for the dairy farmers.
Mr and Mrs McNamara were recipients of the Alla Wolf-Tasker Foundation Scholarship in 2017, which allowed them to learn about the raw milk cheese production process in Leon, France.
"It was amazing. It gave us a really interesting perspective on the way things were done in Europe and how to convert the practise into our uniquely Australian setting," Mrs McNamara said.
Pecora Dairy will release a raw milk blue cheese later this year.
Legislation around food safety in Australia has changed in 2017 to allow producers to make raw milk cheeses.
However makers must still undergo a set of rigorous health checks for the cheese to be sold legally.
