Pepe Saya

Batch churned, handcrafted cultured butter

Since 2009, Pepe Saya and his team have been churning out Australian cultured butter. In that time they have gone from the Carriageworks Farmers Market to shops nationwide; from being served in first class on airlines to being exported across the globe. Their market and their premises may have changed in that time, but Pepe Saya’s commitment to quality and taste has never waivered.

“I am inspired by innovation to better the world; I am inspired by artisans and people that try to make a difference for the better. For an artisan, or a producer, the biggest thing we struggle with day after day is consistency,” Pepe says. “We train ourselves, and we train our people: we must be consistent. But consistent in everything, right? Like I tell my kids, 70 percent is showing up; the other 30 percent is just being consistent.”

“We’re learning every day. Hiren, my manager, and I have worked together now for nearly 20 years, and we’re learning every day and we’re learning from each other,” he explains. “When we write a business plan, there is one question we ask before anything else: what are we giving? Not ‘what are we getting?’. What is the purpose of Pepe Saya? That’s the question. What are we giving to the people? We’re giving community, we’re giving flavour.”

“We don’t make cultured butter for health purposes; we make it for flavour purposes. That’s what you’ve really got to understand. Now the by-product of making something with cultures is you end up with living bacteria. It’s our job to tell you what’s in there, it’s other people’s job to say what it’s good for, or not good for. That’s not something we’re concerned about — we’re concerned about the taste!”

For Pepe, butter tastes best when slightly heated. “It’s the ultimate way to have it. For example, fry an egg in cultured butter — it is the ultimate way! When I go to fry an egg, I put my butter into the pan; it melts, I crack my egg in. A chef doesn’t want to burn the butter, but for me I love the flavour of the nuttiness it gives when you burn the brown butter. Wow!”

“When you have good food, it doesn’t matter what culture it’s from. The best way to break down barriers is food,” says Pepe. “I’m the father of two children and a midwife once said to me, ‘children learn the world through their mouths’.” And Pepe Saya is happy to help further everyone’s education.