The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Northland family business wins top cheese award

By Peter de Graaf
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
28 May, 2019 10:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Blessed are the cheesemakers: Jake Rosevear among racks of maturing cumin cheeses at Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese in Oromahoe. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Blessed are the cheesemakers: Jake Rosevear among racks of maturing cumin cheeses at Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese in Oromahoe. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Northland family business has proved once again it's the big cheese among New Zealand's boutique cheesemakers by winning the national champion of champions title.

Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese, based at Oromahoe, south of Kerikeri, won the boutique producers' supreme award for its Cumin Gouda, described by the judges as ''exceptional''.

Mahoe's Cumin Gouda was also named the nation's best Dutch-style cheese in the New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards held last week in Hamilton.

Bob Rosevear, who founded the company with his wife Anna 34 years ago, said the award was an honour.

''It reflects how well we work together here. It's a family-based business and our staff are just like family too.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

These days sons Jake and Jesse make the cheese while Tim looks after 60 cross-bred Friesian cows and produces the milk. Tony van Stokkum, who joined the company as a cheesemaker almost at the start, is also still part of the team.

Together they are no strangers to success in the competition.

To date Mahoe has won seven supreme awards, including Jake Rosevear being named the country's top cheesemaker two years in a row.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While the family's Cumin Gouda had won plenty of gold medals in the past this is the first time it has won the top gong.

It was made to a traditional Dutch recipe in which cumin seeds are added to the curd.

''It's a lovely flavour. Cumin goes so well with cheese, especially when it's been matured for 3-5 months,'' Bob Rosevear said.

Called komijne kaas in Dutch, it was especially popular with European customers and one of Mahoe's best sellers. It accounted for about 20 per cent, or 4-5 tonnes, of production.

Their other top sellers were Mahoe Blue and Very Old Edam, which had won the supreme title a number of times.

Discover more

New Zealand

Last days of warm weather before winter blast hits

28 May 05:40 PM

Northland cheesemakers win swag of national awards

02 Apr 10:00 PM

It was a stand-out year for Dutch cheeses in the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards with a Goat's Milk Gouda by Waikato's Meyer Cheese winning the supreme award for commercial producers, defined as companies making more than 25 tonnes.

Chief judge Russell Smith said the results reflected the quality of Dutch cheeses in New Zealand.

"Kiwis are fortunate to have a handful of brilliant cheesemakers here making these types of cheeses. I judge across the world and Dutch-style cheeses made in New Zealand are as good as anywhere."

The annual awards are organised by the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association. Mahoe cheese is available from the farm shop on State Highway 10 at Oromahoe, some supermarkets, and farmers' markets in Whangārei, Paihia and Kerikeri.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses

The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

Premium
The Country

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses
The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses

WITT plans to scrap agriculture courses, worrying the Taranaki farming community.

16 Jul 10:23 PM
Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit
The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

16 Jul 09:04 PM
Premium
Premium
More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'
The Country

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'

16 Jul 08:54 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP