Susanna Freymark
They are high school sweethearts and love running a beef jerky business together.
Liam Lewis-Hall and Louise Boustead live and work at Fairymount Cottage nestled in the slopes of Fairy Mount.
Louise said they have been inseparable since school.
After leaving school, Liam got a job at the bottle shop and then at Stuart Brothers Butchery.
He was surprised how much he enjoyed working at the butchers.
“Starting from the whole animal, you can bone it down to a steak,” he said.
Louise and Liam started making beef jerky as a hobby with a small dehydrator.
One day, sitting on the veranda looking over the town of Kyogle, they were eating some of the jerky they had made.
“This is good,” they said to each other.
It was a fanciful idea to turn their hobby into a business, Louise said, and it paid off.
They started in April 2023 and stocked their first packs at Swan Bay Market in Kyogle.
This year, in January, they gave up their other work to focus solely on Fairymount Jerky.
Fairymount Jerky can be found in more than 30 stores and most weekends the pair is at a market in Kyogle, Casino or Bangalow.
They use beef and kangaroo to make jerky and biltong.
Biltong originates from South Africa and is thicker and holds more moisture, while the jerky is small, dry strips of meat.
If you want a salty snack that is high in protein, the jerky is way better than a pack of chips, Lousie said.
Unsealed, the packs last for one year.
What’s next for Fairymount Jerky? Liam and Lousie plan to take their Kyogle product to Victoria.
They sell through their website too and this week had their very first order from the United Kingdom.
Their products are all natural with no preservatives.
“It is air-dried, not smoked, and there’s no soy sauce in it” Liam said.
The quality of the meat is the most important and Liam only uses certified grass-fed Australian beef.
Liam’s brothers are chefs and Liam said he was active in the kitchen as a kid.
Louise does the admin and online store.
Their jerky is flavoured with salt, pepper and coriander.
They also have a lemon flavour, chilli lime and are exploring other ideas.
Liam is keen to try drying lamb and pork too.
The offcuts from the production of the jerky and biltong are turned into packs of dog treats.
Support this burgeoning local business or visit them at the markets or order online here.
Fairymount Jerky will be at the Kyogle Bazaar and Casino Lions Farmers Market this Saturday, August 23.
This Sunday, August 24, they’ll be at the Nimbin Markets.