OUR HISTORY
Udder Delights didn’t just become one of the leading cheese producers in Australia overnight. Rather, it started from humble beginnings and the hard-work from the Dunford and Sullivan family.
The Udder Delights story begins with the dream that Trevor and Estelle Dunford had in 1995 with farming a small patch of land in the Adelaide Hills. Their desire was to build a wholesome lifestyle with a raspberry and fig farm, which led to a couple of goats to eat the cane clippings. Estelle and Trevor Dunford milked the goats ‘Nora and Nell’ and sold the small amount of milk on the side… not knowing that Udder Delights was about to be born.
Being a builder, Trevor was not daunted by physically building a cheese factory, and Estelle was always open to risk and hard work. Sheree decided to put her hand up to take on the cheese making and business management – a slightly daunting project for her at the time as she only had a degree in Jazz Piano to her name. Years of trial, error and big risks saw successes and failures come and go.
In 2004 Sheree married her husband Saul Sullivan, and together they took over the reins of what her family started, and as a family they relentlessly pushed the business forward.
Udder Delights then branched out to also create cow’s milk cheeses, and in time the sacrifices and hard work began to reward their efforts. The original cheese making room was only the size of a shipping container, but from there they worked hard to grow the business into one that supports almost a large group of local staff members and their families.
The desire to connect further with customers meant selling everything Sheree and Saul owned to fund the opening of Udder Delights Cheese Cellar in 2006 – which was soon awarded the Hall of Fame for ‘Excellence in Food Tourism’ after winning gold in the State category three years in a row. In 2022, the Cheese Cellar moved to the new passion project of Sheree and Saul, Grunthal Brew. This saw the Cheese Cellar becoming a part of a wonderful new tourism location that celebrates all things beer, cheese, wine, and gin!
Saul continued to hone his exceptional cheese making skill over the years and was even the first Australian cheese maker to legally produce and sell the nation’s first raw milk blue cheese – King Saul Raw Blue.
As the business has progressed throughout the years, we have seen equal amounts of triumph and tragedy – none more so than Estelle Dunford dying in 2011 from brain cancer at the very young age of 58. Her legacy will always live on through Udder Delights – she had an indominable work ethic, a quiet ‘never give up’ attitude and always an open home and kitchen.
Trevor retired and exited the business in 2017, with Saul and Sheree staying at the helm for many years to follow and bringing on new investment partners. The future is bright for Udder Delights, and we are constantly humbled by how the business has grown and continues to develop. We love to make great cheese for all Australians to enjoy, and I hope that we can enrich your lives too – one cheese at a time.