Ensuring food safety in a family-run cheesery

In 2012, after only six months of retirement, Dimitri and Rosemary Dimitriades cashed in their savings and bought a 7ha smallholding in the Lions River area of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Dimitri had a dream of manufacturing carefully crafted dairy products in the renowned style of his Greek ancestors, and the couple began experimenting with recipes for various yoghurts and cheeses. Through hard work and determination, they perfected the recipe for their now-famous, and deliciously rich, double-cream, strained plain yoghurt, registered and established The Gourmet Greek brand, and began selling small batches of the yoghurt to local eateries, delicatessens and retailers in December 2012.

Iakovos, the couple’s son, says that in the first year of operation, his parents, assisted by only one employee, sourced and processed about 300l/ week of locally produced fresh Jersey milk into Greek yoghurt. After award-winning celebrity chef Jackie Cameron tasted the yoghurt, she nominated it as an entry into the Eat Out DStv Food Network Produce Awards, and it came top in the Best