Cheese Lovers Pay Attention!

This is the story of how Hawkwood Smoked Cheese was born.

Tommy loved his barbecues and had five cookers in his outdoor kitchen – A Weber, of course, two hot smokers - gas and electric - a charcoal rotisserie, and a Canadian 5-burner Char-Broil for when you needed to crank something out in a hurry. One day, when he replaced his gas smoking oven which had given up the ghost, he was just about to scrap it and suddenly had a brainwave to turn it into a cold smoker for cheese! It was perfect – it had all the racks, and could hold 80 blocks of cheese at once.

After attaching an external smoke generator to the outside, he started researching smoking cheese – different types of cheese required different types of woodchips, and with so many options, it all looked quite daunting.

After gathering an array of cheeses and woodchips, Tommy’s outdoor kitchen turned into a smokehouse. Everyone he knew got a sample block to taste with the request for brutal, critical feedback. Then came the woodchip blends – even different-sized blocks of cheese made a subtle difference. Gradually, a recipe was forming.

One day, he got a call from someone who he considered a ‘connoisseur’ when it came to cheese – and who was his biggest critic – and he said:

“Tommy, that last batch you did – don’t change a thing – it is absolutely delicious”.

You’ve got to start somewhere, but you’ve also got to stop somewhere. Enjoy Hawkwood Smoked Cheese. All hand- and batch-smoked to a recipe, but each batch is unique – and all delicious. How’s that for backyard and Kiwi?

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Joanne Webb runs Eatlocal.nz, delivering premium, locally sourced fruit, veges, and artisan foods across the South Island. Passionate about supporting New Zealand growers, she personally packs every order to ensure quality and freshness. When she's not working on Eatlocal, you’ll find her walking her mini Schnauzer, Zac - or contemplating marathon training again!