Twelve years ago, with five acres in the Hawkesbury foothills, two goats and a book, Karen and David Borg swapped the corporate life for that of cheese maker and farmer.  At Willowbrae Chévre Cheese Farm, David now runs 100 goats and Karen makes enough fresh specialist cheeses to supply growers markets in and around Sydney.

I found Karen and her eldest daughter Kate where you’ll see them every Saturday, at the Eveleigh undercover markets in Darlington adjacent to CarriageWorks.  A fabulous display of curd cheeses, some freshly made the previous day, a few flavoured with tomato, olive or pepper, others marinated and some matured.  The newest treats on offer are lemon marinated chevre balls rolled in peppercorns. Sensational on a cheese board or tossed through salad.

Apart from wanting to leave her previous career in land development, Karen was attracted to the idea of raising goats for two main reasons, “Not only can you successfully run enough goats on a relatively small piece of farm land  - goats eat less and as browsers, occupy less grazing land than cows – there was also a noticeable shortage of goat’s cheese in the market and what was available, was imported and expensive”.

Although having been a huge fan of their cheese for a while now, I’d never had a nose for goat’s milk and assumed Willowbrae would have that typical strong musky taste.  But it was surprisingly sweet and fresh and without that twang you may expect.

“You need good quality goats to have good quality milk and cheese.  We are often told it is running the buck with the herd that will bring on the musky flavour but it’s actually all in the goat’s diet and how the milk is handled, such as keeping it chilled so that the relatively high omega 3 fatty acid content does not go rancid.”

“As browsers”, says Karen, “goats thrive on a varied diet and have an incredible ability to know what they need and where to find it.  As well as having access to grasses, branches, lucerne and meadow grasses hay and herbs, our neighbours have also taken to throwing fallen trees and clippings over the fence for them.  They especially like rose prunings and willow tree.”  However, there are some things, eucalyptus for example, they are not allowed for whatever they eat affects the flavour of their milk and therefore the cheese.

In Australia we may consider goat’s milk as an alternative to cow’s, but worldwide far more people drinks goat’s than cow’s milk.  Goat’s milk is believed to more be more easily digestible than cow’s milk.  It is naturally homogenised and therefore needs less processing, is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids and tends to be tolerated by those who react adversely to the highly processed cow’s milk.

When asked if Karen ever looks back and wonders how she came to be one of Sydney’s premier chévre cheese makers, she did admit she wonders “why” sometimes.  ”Being a farmer is a full-time, 365 days a year job.  There’s no taking the day off for Christmas, Easter for birthdays.  There’s no concept of leaving work at the end of the day for a farmer.”  Karen does however brighten again as she explains, “You have to have a passion for what you do”.  Judging by the end product, it is clear the Borg family is sincerely passionate about their goats and cheese making.

Willowbrae cheese and milk is available from the following markets

Every Saturday                        Organic Food Market, Lilyfield

Everleigh Markets, Darlington

1st Saturday of the month    SMH Produce Market, Pyrmont

2nd Saturday of the month  Hawkesbury Harvest Markets, Castle Hill

3rd Saturday of the month   Northside Produce Markets, North Sydney

Every Sunday                           French’s Forest Markets

1st Sunday of the month      Avoca Markets

2nd Sunday of the month    Blackheath Grower’s Market

Every Wednesday                  Fox Studio Markets, Moore Park