The EWE+3 team – Paul Martin from Summer Land Camels, Dallas and Carolyn Davidson from Towri Sheep Cheese dairy, Nathan Jackson from Naughty LIttle Kids, and Kay and Dave Tommerup from Tommerup’s Dairy.

AUSTRALIA’S first cheese made from sheep, camel, goat and Jersey cow milk has been launched in Queensland.

The EWE+3 initiative launched last week was a flood-inspired collaboration between Towri Sheep Cheeses, Tommerup’s Dairy Farm, Summer Land Camels and Naughty Little Kids.

The sheep, camel, goat and cattle producers all hail from the Scenic Rim region south-west of Brisbane where widespread floods earlier this year devastated many farms.

Among these was Towri Sheep Cheeses, at Allenview just outside Beaudesert, which is a leading agri-tourism operator and producer of award-winning cheeses made from milk from their Awassi flock.

“The floods caused absolute devastation to our business, livestock and family farm, including the collapse of our main water supply,” said Towri’s Dallas Davidson, who runs the sheep dairy and cheesery with her mother Carolyn.

“Milk production went down 100 percent as our dairy was completely flooded, and we were unable to deliver to our wonderful restaurant clients due to flood waters and road closures.

“It was pretty horrid …. but, we emptied our gum boots, dried out our work gear and thought about how we could keep moving forward,” she said.

“Then, it hit us, we simply ask our friends – two and four-legged!”

During the drought Towri Sheep Cheeses collaborated with Tommerup’s Dairy in the Kerry Valley on other side of Beaudesert to create Moo & Ewe, a Jersey and Sheep Milk range, that continues to this day.

“We thought – let’s take this further.

“We live in the glorious Scenic Rim, a region of dairies, of inspiring producers, and of truly creative partnerships born of Eat Local Week, so let’s create a Collaboration Cheese.”

With this idea, Towri and Tommerup’s Dairy, together with Summer Land Camels and Naughty Little Kids near Boonah pooled their milk resources and Carolyn Davidson, Towri company director and head cheesemaker with over 17 years’ experience, went to work. After much trial and error, EWE+3 was born.

“To our knowledge this is an Australian first, and could very well be a world-first,” Dallas said.

EWE+3 is described as being rich in taste. It is a cooked natural rind cheese, with earthy, buttery and pear undertones and a touch of sharpness from the sheep’s milk.

Already some of the top restaurants in Queensland use produce from the four suppliers involved, with The Paddock at Hazelwood Estate, ESSA and Elska in Brisbane, Blume Restaurant in Boonah and Mason Wines being the first to carry EWE+3, with inquiries already being received from interstate restaurants.