Lick it. Spread it. Slather it.
Hold it in your mouth then swallow it.
“Passion cannot be controlled. Passion controls you,” says Pierre Issa. “And this is how Pepe Saya butter is made.”
Pepe Saya Butter – © Henryk
His cultured butter is what haute couture is to fashion. Custom design and hand-made techniques begin with grass roots, passion and respect for the produce – key elements that intertwine and flow from farmer to butter maker to restaurant and retailer.
Behind the sensual pleasures of sassy models feasting on butter with empty wrappers strewn on the table lie hand-crafted methods that give Pepe Saya a much-lauded advantage.
The cream is procured from single origin dairy farms that only have grass-fed herds. Left to ripen naturally for two weeks, the cream is fermented for twenty hours with a lactic culture then aged for an additional two weeks. The butter is then churned and hand-worked but remains unhomogenised with the characteristic tiny bits of water through it.
The couture approach does not end there. Pepe ensures that the butter is cut, moulded and packaged to retail stores and restaurants around Australia according to their requirements. And with a stream of highly acclaimed restaurants including Sepia, Aria, Rockpool Bar and Grill and Arras serving or cooking with his butter, the passion for his craft is passed along to discerning palates.
Humble beginnings in a small Sydney factory have taken this Australian producer to the likes of the Eveleigh and Harris Farm Markets and propelled his products into Qantas First Class and Quarter Twenty One store among others, with renowned butcher Victor Churchill stocking exclusive hand-stamped Pepe Saya cultured butter.
Available in salted or unsalted pats, consumers have taken to the creamy taste with a light tang on the finish. With a product that epitomises food design and goodness, Pepe Saya butter is a must-have accessory for the dinner table.
Because quality always remains in fashion.
Pepe Saya Butter – © Henryk
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Next… The making of the Pepe Saya butter fashion shoot with behind-the-scenes photos by Gourmantic. Pepe tells us his vision behind the sassy photo, how the idea was born and developed with high-end fashion photographer Henryk Lobaczewski. We reveal how Gourmantic took part in this exciting food meets fashion photo shoot at the prestigious Bécasse restaurant!
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Pepe Saya Photo Shoot Credits:
Starring: | Pepe Saya Butter | http://www.pepesaya.com.au |
Photographer: | Henryk | http://www.henrykphoto.com |
Location: | Bécasse | http://www.becasse.com.au |
Models: | Amelia Hughes (left) | http://theagencymodels.com.au |
Renée Slansky (right) | http://www.gordonmanagement.com.au | |
Hair & Make-Up: | Amelia Axton | http://www.ameliaaxton.com |
Styling: | Janai Anselmi | http://www.janaianselmi.com |
Nail Artist: | Cindy Vellis | cindy(at)freehanddesign(dot)com.au |
Behind-the-Scenes Photography: | Corinne & Kevin | http://www.gourmantic.com |
Henryk Photo Assistants: | Freya Yazbeck | |
Tianna Buller-Rushworth | ||
Butter Security Manager: | Merna Taouk | http://homemadefinefoods.com.au |
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Update 4/10/2012 – The photo was voted as one of the finalists for the 2012 Shoot the Chef photo competition. The collection is currently on display on level 6 of Westfield Sydney during the Crave Sydney food festival.
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Well it’s certainly an original idea for an advertising campaign! Love it! Love butter, too, for that matter. Do they export to Turkey? 😉
Julia
Isn’t it ever! I loved the idea and loved even more being part of it 🙂 You’d love the butter! I’ll have a word to Pepe about Turkey 😉
An excellent opening to your post Corinne.
Love it & love Pepe Saya butter.
Fantastic photography. The world of butter is certainly not what it used to be!
Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it 🙂
Stunning photography by Henryk – such a pleasure watching the whole process!
[…] at Bécasse. The restaurant is closed for business and we have it all to ourselves. The day of the Pepe Saya butter photo shoot is finally […]
That is one sexy shoot
It is indeed! 🙂
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[…] The image was first shown exclusively on Gourmantic in an accompanying sassy article “Pepe Saya Butter: Taste Meets Fashion” before it graced the windows of Victor Churchill in Woollahra. The photo was shot at […]
[…] crab toast ($18) makes a good entrée to share among two persons. Snow crab, Pepe Saya crème fraiche, lemon zest and chive are served on top of dark rye toast. It’s creamy without […]
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