Kelvin and Cathy Haigh in front of the kitset barn Kelvin built. Photo / Catherine Fry
Kelvin and Cathy Haigh in front of the kitset barn Kelvin built. Photo / Catherine Fry
Organic cheesemaker Kelvin Haigh moved from farming in the late 90s to making organic cheese and built a successful cafe business in Matatoki, between Thames and Paeroa and next to the Hauraki Rail Trail.
When he met his wife Cathy in 2010, her skills were added to the business, expandingtheir product range, adding to the cafe menu, getting a proper coffee machine, dealing with packing and orders, and employing staff.
Today, Kelvin sticks to the cheesemaking and Cathy oversees pretty much everything else at the Cheese Barn.
Kelvin owned a family farm of 40ha milking 100 Jerseys.
He went through organic certification in the early 90s after feeling concerned at the amount of pesticides and herbicides being transferred into the food chain.
“My real interest is for plant and equipment,” he said.
“After I studied dairy science technology at Massey University, I worked in dairy factories and other food industries’ commissioning plant.”
Over office work and fascinated with the concept of milk being made into a clean, healthy product, he built himself a kit set rustic barn and installed his own factory and plant using his practical experience.
“Then I told MAF (now MPI), who were pleasantly surprised, and I only needed to make a few tweaks to get it up and running in 1998.”
Kelvin milked his Jersey herd and then made cheese with the milk.
Kelvin and Cathy Haigh have some animals to entertain little visitors at the cafe. Photo / Catherine Fry
He completed a cheesemaking refresher course at what was formerly the Dairy Research Institute.
He acknowledges Skip Liddiard for his help on-farm in the early days and Skip’s son Jason is now training in cheesemaking at the factory.
Ten years later most of the herd was sold and the farm leased out, keeping the remaining land for the cafe and factory.
Cathy and Kelvin Haigh won the Champion of Champions Award for their organic cumin seed Gouda at the 2018 NZ Cheese Awards.
Kelvin and Cathy now source their organic milk from Raymond Ridings’ Ayrshire herd in Kerepehi during summer and Jersey Girls in Matamata during winter.
“We need milk all year round to make products continually,” Cathy said.
“Some cheeses are made seasonally as they are better with summer milk.
Trainee cheesemaker, Jason Liddiard (front) and Kelvin Haigh.
“We pasteurise the organic milk ourselves and sell non-homogenised full cream milk, sour cream, ghee, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream and an extensive cheese range.”
As well as gaining around 80 stockists across New Zealand wanting organic, handmade cheese, the couple’s cheeses have won them many awards over the years.
Notably, their cumin seed Gouda won the Champion of Champions prize at the 2018 New Zealand Cheese Awards, and their Halloumi won the Greek/Cypriot style cheese category in 2023.
