When Mauro Montalto emigrated from the Sicilian town of Floridia to Melbourne in 1952, he secured work as a boning butcher at North Melbourne.
But at weekends, Mr Montalto would make cheese in his front bedroom using the same technique – with copper pots over a wood fire – that his father had taught him. It was a technique that had been handed down through generations of Montalto men.
For Mr Montalto, the cheese-making started out as a means of earning some extra cash. He would also barter the cheese for essential foodstuffs and toiletries, but he quickly developed a considerable customer base.
To keep up with demand, Mr Montalto quit the butcher’s shop and bought a small factory in Bundoora to establish Floridia Cheese. When he died five years ago, he left behind a successful, family-run company, which employs 60 people and produces award-winning cheese.
Floridia’s ricotta made the ‘top three’ at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards last week and is now a contender for the top award to be announced on November 24.
The company now operates from a large factory at Thomastown and produces a range of products, including fetta, pecorino, mozzarella and a variety of hard and semi-hard cheeses.
About 35 per cent of its produce is exported to Singapore and Malaysia, with the rest ending up in stores such as Mediterranean Wholesalers, Sacca’s and continental delicatessens.
The late Mr Montalto’s grandson, also named Mauro, 44, said his grandad had run the business until he took up farming.
“He was still visiting the factory in the morning before heading out to his poultry and cattle farms in Whittlesea, Epping and Donnybrook.”
