SA Affineur Refines Her Dairy Craft

As published in the Stock Journal by Alisha Fogden

December 5, 2024

EmilyWeir, Macclesfield, works as an affineur at Adelaide Hills artisan cheesemaking business Section 28.

THE 2024 Rural Youth Bursary winner plans to use her $5000 prizemoney to broaden her affinage skills as part of a French work placement.

Emily Weir, Macclesfield, has worked at Adelaide Hills artisan cheesemaker Section 28 for the past 3.5 years as an affineur - someone responsible for ripening and ageing cheese to enhance its flavour and texture.

Her background is in pharmaceutical science, but Emily says her studies were "very transferrable", with microbiology and biochemistry applications both relevant to cheesemaking and affinage.

She also undertook a Certificate lll in Food Processing (Artisan Cheese) at TafeSA in 2022, but says there has also been a lot of on-the-job training under other affineurs and cheesemakers at Section 28.

It was the first time the 27-year-old had applied for the Ag Bureau of SA Spirit of Excellence Awards, encouraged by her boss, with the PIRSA-sponsored bursary designed to 'support young people working in rural communities by providing opportunities for further education, study tours, or special projects that benefit their local area'.

Emily says she plans to use the bursary early to mid next year to travel to France, where she plans to undertake a course at globally-renowned cheese training and making business Mons Formation, located in Saint- Haon-le-Chatel, near Lyon.

She has been to France before, but not on cheese-related business.

"I am very excited, but not quite sure what to expect," she said.

"I am hoping to take that next step in my affinage knowledge, learning from other world-leading affineurs and cheesemakers."

In her bursary application, Emily said she aimed to bring any cutting-edge techniques back to SA, to "further elevate the Adelaide Hills dairy industry as a leader in artisan cheese production".

After her bursary win, Ms Weir commented that affinage was not a very well known process in Australia.

"I plan to get to know the process a lot better, bring that knowledge back to Australia, and implement those new skills, with the big scale thinking of having Section 28 as a centre of knowledge in SA where people can come and learn about affinage,"

she said.

Ag Bureau former chair Janette Ridgway said Emily was a "deserving winner" for her commitment to excellence and her passion for supporting the local dairy industry.

"Her pursuit of further knowledge in affinage will not only benefit her career, but also the broader artisan food sector in SA," she said.

Section 28 is an artisan cheese producer at Woodside, where Emily says they make "Alpine-style cheese, taking inspiration

from northern Europe".

"But our cheese is unique in that we capitalise on the local terroir, milk and climate of the Adelaide Hills,"

she said.

They source their milk from a dairy in Mount Torrens.