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.’”
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