Creator Showcase – Phil Wiffen

Many of you may know already that cheese making is my passion.  It’s one of the reasons that Little Green Workshops exists today, where we went from hobbyists to educators to small business owners.  From there, the rest of our business kind of grew organically.  Now, it’s that type of passion that inspired this weeks creator, Phil Wiffen.

Phil lives in Hastings, New Zealand and has been a customer since June 2017.  Phil also loves to make cheese at home!  But why did he begin making cheese in the first place?

His Inspiration

Well, it all stems back to an early inspiration from his father.  His father wasn’t allowed to go to war in the 1940s because he had ulcers in his stomach, so the New Zealand government put him in a cheese factory in Ohau in the Manawatu.  He made cheese at home in the 1950s when Phil was a kid.

Phil reflects “I have always wanted to make cheese, so I got on the net and saw your website and brought assorted stuff from you that I couldn’t get here in NZ”

“My milk comes from the far north in Whangarei and is whole cream milk shipped to an outlet in Hastings”, he adds.  His milk is very fresh and perfect for cheese making.

Early Days

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing.  Phil remembers “I have been making cheese off your Youtube videos for a few years now.  The first cheese wasn’t all that flash but I learnt by my mistakes on that first go. I have since been more focused on the temperatures at the different stages of cheese making.”

Success

To date, he has made 18 really good types of cheeses.  His favourite creations are Farmhouse cheddar blue, Havarti, Butterkäse, Cotswold with chives and Manchego.

Here are some of Phil’s creations that are currently in his cheese fridge.  From the bottom to top; Farmhouse Cheddar blue, Butterkäse, Farmhouse cheddar, Havarti, Cotswold with chives and a few other pieces that have been vacuum packed.

Congratulations Phil on your cheese making endeavours so far.

Phil Wiffen receives a 10% discount coupon that he can spend in our store for featuring on the creator showcase.

If you have a submission for the creator showcase which features weekly on our blog, then send your submission via email with the subject of “My Creation” to gavin (at) littlegreenworkshops.com.au