Ms Martyn moved to Evandale in February 2016 and started to research establishing a vegan food business in her new home state.

“I wanted something that would really showcase vegan-friendly food,” Ms Martyn said.

“Tasmania has such a foodie reputation, but for salmon, beef, seafood – food I don’t eat. Cheesemaking seemed to be a perfect fit for me.

“We really try to position ourselves in the fine food market,” she said.

Years spent as an academic researcher came to the fore as Ms Martyn started the research and development phase of her new business once deciding on cheesemaking, and Artisa started coming to life.

The plant-based cheese Ms Martyn produces starts with cashews that are soaked and processed with filtered water, coconut oil and Tasman sea salt before a non-dairy probiotic culture is added and it is left overnight.

Once the cheese base is formed, Ms Martyn adds her own seasonal touches, such as seaweed from the South-East coast, truffles from Riverside, Huon Valley saffron, Tasmanian pepperberry, apple wood, pinot noir and stout.

“I try to have seasonal changes, but I have a core selection of cheeses,” Ms Martyn said.

“It’s been so much fun,” she said.

Fresh cheeses are packaged at seven days and aged cheeses between six weeks and four months.

“We’re starting to get into bars, vineyards and cellar doors. When you’re a vegan and go wine tasting then you’re probably left with grapes and crackers, so it’s nice to have a vegan option,” Ms Martyn said.

“We’ve had great feedback from customers and we’ve got lots coming back now,” she said.

Artisa recently won three medals from three cheese entries at the Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards: gold for Coal River, which is dusted with fennel pollen; silver for Lonnie blue vein; and bronze for Binalong, a cheese flecked with wakame seaweed.

Artisa plant-based cheeses are sold at the shop in Prospect and via the Artisa website, at Evandale Market every Sunday and retail outlets throughout the state and soon in Melbourne.

Fresh 120 gram Artisa cheeses sell for $10.95 and aged 200 gram cheeses for $16.95.