Cultur’d Handcrafted Dairy, based in Tweed Heads, is the brainchild of local cheesemaker Thomas Iacono. You can call him Tom – he’s a helluva guy. So, Tom was formerly the head cheesemaker at the Byron Bay Cheese Company before becoming the in-house cheesemaker at Three Blue Ducks at The Farm, where he made cultured butter and fresh cheese products for the popular venue. Then, Tom made the move to pursue his passion and started producing his own batches of butter under the banner of Cultur’d Handcrafted Dairy. At the moment, Tom produces cultured butter, creme fraiche and cultured buttermilk – all with his own hands – and he’s about to delve back into cheesemaking, too.

Although Tom tell us the process is kept simple, butter making is a real art. The cream comes from the Malaney Dairy farm, before Tom cultures it with his own unique blend of cheese cultures. It ferments from 24 to 48 hours, which is when the PH levels drop and the complex flavours begin. Tom uses a traditional style of butter churning, with a slightly modern spin. It’s a slow process, as he has to be as gentle on the cream as possible to ensure the makeup of the cream doesn’t alter too much. Then, he uses cold water to wash butter and works all of the moisture out by hand – which means every single ounce of butter goes through Tom’s hands before being packaged. Cool, eh? If that doesn’t give you a whole new appreciation of handcrafted butter, then we don’t know what will!

If the question on your buttery lips is ‘where can you get your hands on Tom’s handcrafted goodness?’ Well, you can buy from him direct at the Burleigh Farmers Market every Saturday, or from Three Blue Ducks at The Farm, The Bread Social, Golosi Emporium and Bay Seafood Market in Byron Bay.