Bellata Gold Milling
Bellata Gold Milling is a family-owned business located in Tamworth in northern NSW. Its boutique durum wheat mill boasts state-of-the-art equipment and produces high-quality durum semolina and flour.
Bellata Gold Milling specialises in transforming durum wheat into a semolina not available elsewhere in the global marketplace. The durum wheat, known as EGA Bellaroi, is hailed in Italy as possibly the finest durum variety in the world.
The company provides a significant and unique value-add to the NSW economy. EGA Bellaroi is sourced from The ‘Golden Durum Triangle’ area of northern NSW—between Moree, Narrabri and Inverell—which is renowned for its high-quality grain.
With its high protein levels and rich golden colour, EGA Bellaroi is ideal for making pasta.
Bellata Gold Milling’s milling process produces a semolina that gives fresh pasta makers a cleaner and brighter product with less wastage in their manufacturing process. The company has a direct relationship with all of its customers and often changes product specifications to meet their individual needs. As a result, the semolina is being used by Australia’s top restaurants and fresh pasta makers.
The milling facility also meets the stringent HACCP food management system certification and is halal accredited.
Bellata Gold exports its premium-grade durum direct to Italy and its semolina throughout Asia and the South Pacific. The company’s export programs operate according to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service management systems.
A bold vision and a competitive advantage
In 2007, Doug Cush, the company’s founder, purchased a block of land on the outskirts of Tamworth and imported a state-of-the-art fully computerised durum mill from Italy—the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere. At the time, it was considered a bold move for an individual grower to secure their place further along the value chain.
Doug’s firsthand knowledge of the specifications required to make the perfect pasta and a background in pasta manufacturing has given Bellata Gold Milling a competitive advantage in the industry. It is due to this in-depth knowledge that Bellata Gold Milling has been able to produce a fine semolina not available elsewhere in the marketplace.
Cush’s ultimate ambition is to see pasta lovers everywhere recognise Bellata’s product as the best pasta-making durum in the world.
Support from the NSW Government
Bellata Gold Milling has received assistance from the NSW Government in the form of infrastructure funding and business planning advice. The company has participated in a number of NSW-led international market visits including exhibiting at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in 2005. This established Bellata Gold Milling’s presence in the US market by providing an opportunity to build initial relationships with retailers, distributors and consumers.
More recently, NSW Government export advisors provided Bellata Gold Milling with export assistance, which has helped to establish its presence in other overseas markets.
The company now exports its unique durum wheat product to the UK, Japan and the Middle East.
Bellata Gold Milling is also a regular participant in Australia’s annual Fine Food Australia exhibition, including co-exhibiting with the NSW Government, where it first garnered recognition in the industry for its unique product.