Award winning produce – cheese and chocolate take on Australia’s best at the Royal Sydney Show

Canberra’s popular Saturday morning market, the Capital Region Farmers Market, have successfully matched it’s growers with some of the best in Australia at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show.

The judges of the show have taste tested their way through 863 products, with two of the Capital Region Farmers Markets stallholders, Small Cow Farm and Lindsay & Edmunds Chocolates, winning awards.

Premium cheese producer from Robertson, Small Cow Farm won gold and silver for their Petit Vache Brie and Petie Vache Camembert respectively. They were also awarded the Australian Cheeseboard Perpetual Trophy for their Petit Vache Brie, a huge honour according to Small Cow Farm cheese makers and owners Mark and Lesley Williams.

“Winning at the Royal Sydney Show is a great honour, it was such a surprise. We were tickled to win the Cheeseboard Perpetual Trophy and to be recognised alongside the likes of King Island” Lesley said.

The Royal Sydney Show gives producers the opportunity to benchmark their products against the best that the country has to offer, whilst promoting their products under the respected Sydney Royal brand.

“Winning awards at the Royal Sydney Show is great for advertising, people are really interested to know they’re buying the best. It’s also a great way to see how your cheese sizes up to others bigger cheese factories” Lesley continued.

Small Cow Farm began in 2005, milking small Irish Dexter cows. After experimenting with cheese making in the kitchen, the dream to build farmhouse cheese rooms became a reality and Small Cow Farm started producing commercially, sourcing pure milk from a local farmer. Lesley said Small Cow Farm wanted to create something unique to the Southern Highlands.

MEDIA RELEASE 18 February 2010

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“We wanted produce a cheese that is unique to the Southern Highlands, delicious and full of flavour, which is why we source pure milk from someone in the area.”

Small Cow Farm started coming to the Capital Region Farmers Markets in 2005. Since then they have developed a regular following, even amongst the French community in Canberra.

Capital Region Farmers Market handmade organic chocolate producer Lindsay & Edmunds were also recognised at the Sydney Royal Show, winning gold for their Organic Caramelised Chilli Macadamia in Organic Dark Chocolate and silver for their Organic Honey-Almond Praline in Organic Belgian Milk Chocolate.

This weekend, the markets will make some important changes as Exhibition Park gears up to host the annual Canberra Show. This Saturday, 20 February the markets will open from 7am and will close at 10am sharp (normal operating hours are 8am – 11am) to enable set up for the popular show hosted by the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society. Public entrance will only be available via Wells Station Road with the normal access via other roads closed due to show set up.

The Capital Region Farmers Market will be closed on Saturday 27 February as the Royal Canberra Show will be in full swing on 26 – 28 February at Exhibition Park. The Market will operate as normal following the show on Saturday 6 March.

The Capital Region Farmers Market in Canberra is a genuine farmers market with over 100 stalls offering a diverse range of fresh food and agricultural produce straight from the producer to the customer. All funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall which founded the Market in 2004.

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For more information, images or to arrange an interview, please contact Elkie Stuart, Threesides, 0421 230 103 or elkie.stuart@threesides.com.au