For more than two decades, a panel of expert judges from Dairy Australia has been selflessly taste-testing ice-creams from across the country to name the best product each year.
Last year, Dooley’s in Apollo Bay, Victoria, was pronounced the champion ice-cream producer for its premium chocolate ice-cream at the national industry body’s awards. In February, another Victorian producer, Gundowring Finest Ice Cream, took out the delicious title for 2020.
Gundowring has been winning awards for its organic liquorice ice-cream since 2005. The dairy farm, about four hours north-east of Melbourne, makes its product with milk from Holstein cows, along with local ingredients such as fruits, nuts and honey.
“Part of the joy in what we do is working with other local people and using the things they make and transforming that into ice-cream flavours,” says James Crooke, who, along with his wife Iris Crooke, took over the farm from his parents Stephen and Sarah.
“[Our team’s] hard work is really being recognised by the judges out there who really know what they’re talking about. As a little company, to win on that scale is just fantastic.”
The Crooke family has been churning their award-winning ice-cream at the 1000-acre Kiewa Valley farm since 1945. liquorice has become a flagship flavour, despite its divisive reputation.
To pick the liquorice for the ice-cream, the Crooke family sat down back in 2004 and tasted their way through 20 different brands. The standout was an organic liquorice from Junee liquorice and Chocolate Factory over the border in New South Wales, a couple hours north of the farm.
The liquorice is melted through the creamy base, which allows some soft bits to remain throughout the ice-cream. Crooke says Junee’s product has a strong fruity flavour, rather than the harsh aniseed hit some of its mass-produced counterparts deliver.
“The way we make ice-cream is an artisan batch process, which is fairly simple but really does rely on the quality of ingredients,” he says.
While the Gundowring farm wasn’t directly affected by the recent bushfire season, it’s felt the flow-on effects on the region’s farms and the drop in tourism.
“We need people who don’t live in these areas to come visit and show their support,” says Crooke. “[The fires] really have a ripple effect, not just on the community affected but on the communities around them that are supporting them.”
Show your support by taking a tour of the farm, or buy a tub of ice-cream from your nearest stockist. Find the full list here.
