The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2020 - Issue 67 | Page 18

18 HEADINGLEY FARMERS MARKET
FEB/MAR 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
OLIANAS GUSTO ITALIANO
MARIO Olianas was born in Vienna to an
Italian father and an Austrian mother.
From 6 months old he was brought up by
the sea in Sardinia. Father is a fisherman
who has always encouraged interest in
fresh food. Initially he worked in cater-
ing, both by the coast and in the Italian
mountains. He moved to England in 2001,
originally just to learn English ready for
a change. He learnt English, however in
the process he found he not only loved
Yorkshire but also met Sonia. Nineteen
years later they are now living in the
north of Leeds, along with their two boys
Loris, 13 and Raffaele, 14.
Mario has always been in the catering
trade in one form or another and back
in 2010 he saw a gap in the marketplace
to produce Pecorino cheese, and as an
aside also had a strong desire to make
better cheese than his brother. Initially
as a hobby, he began making pecorino
cheese. Today, eight years on from what
was a hobby, is now a thriving cottage
industry business that continues to grow
and win many awards.
Mario started Olianas Gusto Italiano
from very small beginnings, with one pan
and 30 litres of ewe’s milk, Mario was the
first Pecorino cheese maker in the UK. He
took some time to find a good milk sup-
plier, he actually found a gem in Yorkshire
farmer and contractor, Chris Heslop, who
is based at, Spofforth near Harrogate.
They have a herd of Friesland ewes and
due to the success of Olianas Chris has
increased his herd and now supplies
Mario with 600 litres a week! With the
business growing so well Mario has set
up a separate side named Yorkshire
Pecorino Cheese Ltd this is to just supply
the wholesale trade.
Initially Mario spent some time via trial
and error perfecting his cheese, before
taking the bold step of taking it to his first
farmers’ market, which was the Leeds
farmers’ market situated near the bus
station, this was to see if the public would
buy it. Well, he need not have worried,
the cheese was an instant hit, and so
things began.
Early testament to what Mario was
creating and a real shot in the arm was
six years ago when he won a bursary
from the BBC Good Food Show and a
free stand! This really helped him put the
business on the map.
Within a relatively short period of
time, it was apparent that Mario could
make a living from his cheese, but for
that to happen he would need to invest
in both equipment and space. Keen to
keep everything under one roof, they
modified the large extension at the back
of the house which was previously a
games room, moved the garage slightly
forward, this enabled them to create their
dedicated “cheese room” . The building
is very discreet and looks like a large
garage, however such is the quality of the
cheese room etc, it is actually registered
as a small dairy. Following investment in
the building, along came a new £8000 vat
from Germany and new fridges to keep
the stock.
Mario gradually started to produce
more and then sell more. He then took
on Headingley and Otley farmers’ market,
then Oakwood and Kirkstall, also by
popular demand he does Knutsford a
couple of times a year.
Mario has been very careful not to
grow too fast, investing carefully, so
much so that he has a thriving business
and doesn’t owe anyone a penny.
With the business growing at a pace,
it was becoming too much for just
one person. Sonia was already an
award-winning office interior design
consultant; however she was happy
to take a career change and become a
cheese maker.
Mario and Sonia have the cheese-mak-
ing process down to a fine art. It’s a 5
am start with the ewe’s milk which is all
pasteurised by 10 am, then the process
of turning it into cheese takes a further
three hours and then clean down. The
whole process is constantly monitored.
The cheese is then left to mature for a
further 30 days before packaging and off
to market. They produce on average of
sixty cheeses a week, two hundred and
fifty a month. There are four different
varieties of delicious cheese.
It doesn’t stop there, in another first
for Mario, eight years ago, cupcakes and
muffins were the rage and no-one was
making fresh donuts in Leeds; using the
whey from the cheese, Mario produced
excellent donuts - so much so that it
raised their popularity for others to jump
on board. Mario also makes focaccia
with various fillings.
I knew just how good these cheeses are
when I learned that Mario has won more
than 35 awards for his cheeses. He is now
a popular judge at major cheese shows,
he has cooked on stage with another
well-known Yorkshireman, James Martin.
He has met Brian Turner who is also a fan.
Arguably, the icing on the cake is that you
will find Mario’s cheese on the counter
at Fortnum and Mason, on the menu at
Michelin Star restauranteur Tommy Banks’
Roots and Black Swan York Emporia and
even closer to home, the prestigious Ilkley
“Box Tree” restaurant.
The demand and business continue to
grow and now Mario and Sonia are ready
for the next step, they are looking for
premises in the Otley/harrogate area. We
wish them well for the future - get your-
selves down to the farmers’ markets and
avail yourselves of these fine cheeses.