WA Economic Development Award recognises strong growth of Denmark Farmhouse Cheese and Duckett’s Mill Wines

Denmark Farmhouse Cheese and Duckett’s Mill Wines has received a Statewide honour after a concerted effort to grow their business in the past five years. The family business was named the winner of the Economic Development Award at the WA Community Achievement Awards ceremony last month. Company director Annette Stock said she was gobsmacked by the win after being named as one of four finalists. Ms Stock and her husband Laurie bought the Scotsdale Road business in 2018. “We’ll have had the business for five years in February and we’ve tripled the business since taking over” she said. “The previous owners were only open five days a week and now we open seven days a week and have expanded the menu. “So here we are five years later and it’s just going gangbusters.” The WA Community Achievement Awards are handed out annually by Awards Australia to recognise achievements across the State in a variety of categories. Cheeses produced by Mr Stock and the couple’s 17-year-old son, Jack, also claimed eight gold medals and eight silver medals at this year’s Dairy Industry Association of Australia WA Dairy Product Competition. “Our son is what we really want to showcase, he’s been working in the business since he was 15,” Ms Stocks said. The company operates a restaurant as well as cellar sales from its property 20 minutes north-west of Denmark. Ms Stock said being able to remain openly consistently during COVID had allowed the business to maintain its momentum. “Because people were trapped in WA they came to the Great Southern rather than just doing the usual Margaret River trip,” she said. “It’s opened up everybody’s eyes as to what’s here in the Great Southern and that’s something we’re extremely passionate about — promoting the Great Southern. “We believe we are the best region in the State, we’re the best food producers.” She said the business made an effort to source whatever it could locally. “I know exaclty where it comes from and I know how its processed, we only source good product,” she said. “We make all our own cheese and the milk is local, we have our own vineyards so all the grapes are ours, the wines made next door at Harewood Estate — it’s as regional as we can keep it. “We’re conscious of our footprint as well, so we compost everything, the chooks are fed scraps and we have our own veggie garden so that we can grow as much fresh produce as we can.” The couple have big plans to boost the company’s capabilities. Ms Stock said it included building a new storage shed, expanding the dining area and renovating the shop. “In about 18 months time we’ll also be building cheese factory, just for cheese-making and aging because we’ve outgrown what we have,” she said. “The storage shed and kitchen renovations will probably be starting in the next three to four weeks. “Then the enclosing of the outdoor area as a new dining area will be happening after Easter, once the holidays are over, because it gets a little bit quieter in May and we’ll lose a fair bit of seating during construction.”