eclectic food innovator shines
The small coastal town of Yamba is home to one of the world’s best eating prawns, the Eastern King Prawn. It’s also home to the highest acclaimed finishing vinegars in Australia, developed by Peter Nicholson, from Nicholson Fine Foods.
“Nicholson Fine Foods is an artisan food company that creates, develops and manufactures an eclectic range of innovative food products for professional chefs and home cooks,” says Peter, who founded his eponymous business in 2002.
Food has always been a big part of Peter’s life. From an early age, he helped his mother and grandmother in the kitchen. He then did his apprenticeship in Tasmania, where he was named Cooking Apprentice of the Year. Building upon this honour, he travelled the world working for prestigious food companies that gave him access to qualified staff and generous budgets.
When he started his business, though, the restraints of developing food in regional Australia pushed Peter’s creativity to flourish. “Being self-employed, and with all the pressures of a new business meant I really had to dig deep to survive. I learned to do more with less,” Peter says.
This early pressure set Peter up for an innovative approach that became the key to Nicholson Fine Food’s success.
“In 2004 I started design work on a new style of vinegar, which I called Finishing Vinegar,” says Peter. “Now, 13 years later, a Google search shows this style has been copied by many companies in Australia, Europe and the United States. The Garnishing Pearls, Belgian Chocolate Mousse and Seasoning Sprinkles are also products with high degrees of innovation and design.”
“I learned to do more with less”
Being an innovator means Peter continues to grow with and adapt to the ever-changing food market. “There are so many pressures on food and lifestyle for Australians, and change is constant,” Peter says.
“Researching and designing products to fit into a future marketplace is challenging, but I do enjoy the creativity. For me, it’s a great driver.”
The success of Nicholson Fine Foods is reflected by its arm-long list of national awards, including 17 Australian Royal Show Champion Trophies. And Peter plans to keep raising the bar.
“I subscribe to the saying, ‘Good, better, best – we will never rest, until our good is better and our better’s best.’”
Share this story
Read more stories
biggy pop sings support for matilda
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Bay-Wildlife-Hospital-2-scaled.jpg 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Bay-Wildlife-Hospital-2-scaled.jpgByron Bay Wildlife Hospital
In 2020, Iggy Pop received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; in the same year his pet cockatoo, named Biggy Pop, became the founding patron of Byron Wildlife Hospital…
Step back in time for ‘reel’
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Yamba-Cinema-Debbie-scaled.jpg 2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Yamba-Cinema-Debbie-scaled.jpgYamba Cinema
Yamba Cinema is not just a popular venue to see the latest movie in an idyllic Northern Rivers town.
partners with industry, partners with community
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Enterprise-Lab-launch-copy.jpg 2000 1048 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Enterprise-Lab-launch-copy.jpgSouthern Cross University
Celebrating a silver anniversary is a significant milestone, 25 years of developing your relationship, exploring and accepting your strengths…
collectively creative social heaven
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/30715202_1014120148743120_6987131970559934464_o.jpg 1080 823 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/30715202_1014120148743120_6987131970559934464_o.jpgIsland Collective
If you are looking for contemporary artist and stylist Fleur Yorston, you’ll most likely find her among fiddle leaf figs and cane furniture, in her Yamba…
growing community, growing business
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/All-ways-The-Farm.jpeg 1600 1066 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/All-ways-The-Farm.jpegThe Farm
It’s a typical Saturday morning at The Farm, on the outskirts of Byron Bay. Families line up for freshly made pastry and coffee. Every table in the…
carefully crafted business success
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Evans-Head-Cabinetry-001.jpg 2000 1041 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Evans-Head-Cabinetry-001.jpgEvans Head Cabinet Making
“People often say, ‘They don’t build things like they used to’,” says fine furniture and cabinet maker Justin Crisp. “But I can confidently say…”
home is where the heart is
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/edmonds-conveyancing-ballina-001.jpg 1920 847 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/edmonds-conveyancing-ballina-001.jpgEdmonds Conveyancing
The legal aspects of buying and selling a property are not normally associated with having a laugh and even singing, but the Edmonds Conveyancing…
Keeping it real in the Tweed
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpg 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpgTweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.
You can judge a book by its cover
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CharlieFox-Co_Jess-scaled.jpg 1440 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CharlieFox-Co_Jess-scaled.jpgCharlie & Fox
When Jess Tunnage’s mother-in-law gave her a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago, she had no idea how to use it.
Art of Glass
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Coast-Glass_product-shot.jpg 541 817 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Coast-Glass_product-shot.jpgTweed Coast Glass
Anyone who lives between the Gold Coast and Ballina with even a passing involvement in the building trade will be familiar with Tweed Coast Glass.
not just a business, a community partner
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpg 960 761 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpgStone & Wood
“That’s like asking parents to name which of their children they prefer,” says Jamie Cook, Stone & Wood co-founder. He has been asked which of the…
effective creatives have all the fun
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cumulus-vfx-byron-002.jpg 1000 750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cumulus-vfx-byron-002.jpgCumulus VFX
They’ve walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Hoges. Gone down the garden path with Peter Rabbit. Flown Katie Holmes over…
Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Summit_Matthew-scaled.jpg 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Summit_Matthew-scaled.jpgSummit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.
eclectic food innovator shines
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Peter-at-the-Yamba-bus-stop.-July16.jpg 1030 1030 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Peter-at-the-Yamba-bus-stop.-July16.jpgNicholson Fine Foods
The small coastal town of Yamba is home to the one of the world’s best eating prawns, the Eastern King Prawn. It’s also home to the highest…
A walk on the wild side
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fix-Vision-Walks.jpg 1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fix-Vision-Walks.jpgVision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.
take me to the river
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/10986182_733888960072606_3561220566688304460_o.jpg 2048 1536 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/10986182_733888960072606_3561220566688304460_o.jpgGrafton to Yamba Houseboats
The Clarence River, at the southern end of the Northern Rivers, is known colloquially as the ‘Big River’, while its Aboriginal name is ‘Breimbah’ or…
right place, right time, right way
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_1379-08-190.jpg 600 436 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_1379-08-190.jpgWrightway Products
The greatest challenge for Jennifer Joy and John Donnelly, the driving force behind Wrightway Products, was getting the world to see the value of…
A community cornerstone bouncing forward
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Coraki-Post-Office.jpeg 2048 1260 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Coraki-Post-Office.jpegCoraki Post Office
For all that has been thrown at the small town of Coraki in recent times, the owners of the town’s post office are rolling with the punches.
A hive of success and support
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wild-Honey.jpg 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wild-Honey.jpgWild Honey Creative
Wild Honey Creative is living proof that special skills and services we might once have associated with our cities – such as graphic and digital design, innovation in marketing and brand storytelling – are thriving in regional areas.
an epic adventure into healing honey
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Gather-By_Product-shot.jpg 1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Gather-By_Product-shot.jpgGather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…