I really, really like Pepe Saya butter.
Once every couple of months, we make the short trek to their Tempe factory to stock up on supplies…
On our last visit, I had a conversation with Pierre Issa (Pepe). We both agreed that ten years ago a company such as theirs would have struggled – back then, folks were more dollar driven in their purchasing, and a butter specialist who sold his wares for more than double the supermarket price might not have survived.
Yet in 2013, not only are they surviving, but the Pepe Saya company is thriving. And for good reason too – their products are sublime.
We buy our eating butter from them, and it’s quite expensive – $7.50 per 225g (factory price). But it ticks all the right boxes for us – it’s made here in Sydney from grassfed Australian jersey cream, and seasoned with a mix of Olsson’s Kiln Dried and Murray River Pink salts (both Australian). Unlike some commercial butters, it doesn’t have water added to pad it out. It’s produced in small batches, with great care, and is so flavoursome that a little goes a long way – a single wheel will often last us several weeks.
Needless to say, we’re not buying Pepe Saya butter for baking or cooking, but I don’t think that’s what it’s made for. It’s the perfect accompaniment to my sourdough loaves, and a product that I’m extremely happy to be feeding my sons.
Every time we visit the factory, we find that they’ve expanded their range just a little bit. This week, we brought home a tub of their fabulous Creme Fraiche ($12/litre) – a very thick and rich sour cream from which the butter is churned…
Inspired by Lizzy’s post, we also bought a jar of the new Pepe Saya ghee ($10/jar)…
It’s golden and crumbly and smells amazing…
We don’t have any affiliation with the Pepe Saya company, but we are huge fans of both their products and their high quality approach. If you’re an Aussie, and particularly if you’re a Sydneysider, I’d urge you to seek out their products and try them for yourself. If we want to keep small companies like this in business, it’s important that we support them!
. . . . .
Pepe Saya
Factory: Unit 4, 3 Wood Street, Tempe NSW 2044
Phone: +61 2 9559 1113
Email : info@pepesaya.com.au
Website: www.pepesaya.com.au
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Celia, thanks so much for the shout out for Pepe and his team. Love their products and I am not affiliated either… a friend in food and great admirer of Pepe’s passion.
Aren’t they great people, Lizzy! I told Hiren I’d seen him on your blog and that he was now famous! :)
That ghee looks great!
Tandy, it tastes delicious – I used it in a curry last night! :)
Delicious golden goodness Celia! I feel like a piece of sourdough with Pepe Saya butter now!
Jane, I’m so glad you picked some up in Adelaide! :)
Ok, after reading your and Liz’ posts we will give it a bash. Maus is going to buy some on Monday for me. It is a decent drive to the closest distributor but from what you say, it will be worth it:)
Make sure you ring first to check they have stock, Glenda! Or Maus will be cross at me when she get there if they don’t.. :)
Their butter is THE BEST! Not sure what to do with ghee though…
Fry roti in it, Mel! :)
My friends Mum used to make her own farm butter, I was over the moon each time I was given a slab. Love butter.
Sue, it’s hard to beat homemade butter isn’t it? I had some when we visited Pete’s cousins in Mudgee a little while ago!
I love butter. Just a dab on the right veg or bread makes all the difference.I use it also to brown things. <3 Maz
Maz, I thought you were going to say, “I dab it on my pulse points…” like a perfume.. :) xx
Celia I wasn’t convinced on fancy butters until the food and wine show last year. I tried an organic handmade butter and I was hooked. We don’t eat all that much butter so I still have a little left but I will be replacing it with Pepe Saya. It’s so good you really could eat it on it’s own. Don’t worry I won’t!
Claire, we don’t eat a lot either (although I do bake with a bit), so it’s a real treat to have a good eating butter! x
Good butter on good bread is hard to beat. Glad to see it has some Maldon sea salt in it so you’re eating a little bit of Essex with every mouthful (I live in Essex).
Anne, we buy Maldon sea salt in large buckets and use it for almost everything except bread baking (where I generally prefer a finer grind). I will think of you when we use it – I’ve never known anyone else from Essex before (except Jamie Oliver of course, but I don’t really know him, so he doesn’t count!). :)
Anne, sorry, my mistake, Pepe Saya don’t use the Maldon salt, they use all Australian ones! We use Maldon at home though! :)
The beauty of Pepe Saya’s butter is that it’s cultured so it’s teeming with lots of good bacteria which help digestion – so yes to heat and use in baking would be sacrilegious!
Not to mention expensive! :)
A bit far for me to travel :-). It is a joy to find really good local food, isn’t it.
Pat, after a lifetime of reading James Herriot, I’m convinced you must have access to amazing butter in Yorkshire! Don’t disillusion me! :)
Its so good that you are supporting them celia because our small enterprises need all the help they can get. Other butter ( even some of the highly regarded French ones) come into the country frozen, so as Kitsa says, that is pointless as the cultures have been destroyed . Its expensive doing things the right way and a little bit of luxury is not a bad thing. cant wait to get some buttermilk and creme fraiche, so I dont have to buy that supermarket crap!!
Tan, every time I talk to you, I learn something new. I had no idea all our imported butters came into the country frozen – even the NZ ones? And darling, you definitely need to pop into the factory! :)
Isn’t great that such a fantastic artisan product is thriving? So yummy indeed! Xox
Becca, I’m really happy that we live in a decade where so many of these small scale manufacturers can operate viably. I think it speaks well of our times! :)
I love it too. I have bought it through “Harvest Hub” fruit and veg co-op and it comes to my door. Very happy with that.
Oooh, home delivered Pepe Saya butter, how cool is that! :)
This Pepe Saya brand looks divine. It’s so great that you support them! You have to tell me how the creme fraiche is… I love that stuff!!!
Em, it is amazing. It is incredibly rich and tangy – I wanted to use it for pastry, but we’re going to struggle not to just dip into it with a spoon.. :)
Celia, it’s wonderful that you have access to such a great product, and I hope your post gives him a lot of business! I wish I lived closer, we don’t eat too much butter, so one of these rounds would last us for a long time, I bet you can freeze it? I use ghee sometimes, for instance when grilling lobster tails, I find that ghee is the perfect thing to brush the lobster with.
I love the packaging also, pretty cool and unique
Sally, it would be a shame to freeze the butter, and it has an expiry date of about three months, so there’s never been a need to! Thanks for the ghee suggestion! xx
Wonderful that you are supporting your local small producers, they work so hard, not to mention long hours, and take such great care and pride in their products.
Norma, I know this sounds silly, but I’m excited that we have someone making gourmet butter a stone’s throw away from home! And working so hard to make it the best butter possible! :)
You are very lucky.
I would love to have Pepe in New York..everything looks so creamy and delicious. I wonder…is he from Spanish decent…
Norma, I don’t know if Pierre is Spanish, but I’m sure there’s a story behind the name.. :)
Local foods are so much better- we have some local dairies that make great butter- not sure if it is the same quality- but I really like some of the Amish made butters here in Ohio!
Heidi, I’m always so interested in the things you buy from the Amish community! I’m sure the butters would be fantastic! x
I just love the growth in these artisan producers in Australia at the moment. We have Kris Lloyd of Woodside Cheese Wrights here in SA – she also makes cultured butter. She gave me one she had flavoured with whiskey which is just sublime!
Whiskey flavoured butter sounds amazing! It’s a great time to be a foodlover – we have so many wonderful specialist producers! :)
That butter looks amazing and I think it’s great to buy products that are not only made with a lot of love and care but are top quality too. I hate the way commercial butters are watered down. I might have to trek it out to this factory xx
Charlie, I’m just so chuffed that it’s made here in Sydney! I love that such a specialised artisan producer can operate viably in our big city! :)
This all sounds wonderful, Celia. I’m glad to read his business is booming. It means people are paying closer attention to what they’re eating. That has to be a good thing. :)
John, I agree, it’s a very good thing indeed! :)
Oh yay, I’ve just discovered where to buy Pepe Sayer in Brisbane. I don’t eat butter but Peter does and I do use ghee. I imagine the butter would be lovely dabbed on steamed vegetables as well. I also like to be able to buy a brand of food that is not dictated to me by a supermarket and where I can feel I’m doing my bit to support small producers. I like too to be able to buy a food, such as milk, which hasn’t been deconstructed and reconstructed.
Jan, you’re so right (about all of it), and it really IS nice to be able to support artisan foods! I hope you and Peter enjoy it as much as we have!
I’m a big fan of their butter too! Pierre is such a great guy too and I’m so glad to see that they’re going well! :D
Their range just keeps expanding, Lorraine! :)
What a beautiful product. I hate the way saturated fats have been portrayed as the enemy for so long and shun anything ‘light’ or ‘low fat’. Since this advice was given we’ve got more and more unhealthy. Simple products like well made butter are far superior to highly processed spreads. The key is not to over do it in your diet ….and there is evidence that it is actually good for you too. Rant over – lucky you to be able to buy such gorgeous products.
Sally, as I’ve said before, thou art a kindred spirit, and you are more than welcome to rant any time you want here. :) The Pepe Saya butter is so flavoursome that we actually find ourselves eating less of it (somewhat paradoxically). It’s all about taste and flavour and satiety! :)
Is there any better recommendation than someone who’s passionate about a product? I think they should put you on the payroll. :) I love butter and will eat none of the fake stuff. I do make my own flavoured butter on occasion but that’s because I haven’t found any Pepe Saya up here. I must investigate.
M, I’m pretty sure it’s available up in Brissie – Jan who commented above lives there! I hope you track some down, it’s very good! :)