V’s Dessert Gluten Free has won four gold medals and the National Champion title in the Dairy Dessert, Custard or Mousse category at the 2026 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show, the country’s most prestigious dairy competition, in its very first year of entering.
Founder Vivian Wang entered four flavours of her handcrafted gluten-free basque cheesecakes, including original, rose honey pistachio, blueberry and coffee, against entries from some of Australia’s most established producers.
Every single one came home with gold. The original basque cheesecake then went further, taking the National Champion trophy for its category from a field that required a gold medal just to be in contention.
“It was our first year entering, and we genuinely did not expect this result,” Wang said. “Competing alongside some of Australia’s best producers made the recognition even more meaningful.”
A Competition with a Long History
The Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show is not a gimmick. The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW has been running dairy judging since 1858, making it one of the longest-running food competitions in the country. The show operates in its current comprehensive format since 1994 and now spans 94 classes across cheese, milk, yoghurt, butter, ice cream and dairy desserts, with over 600 exhibits assessed by a national panel of food and dairy specialists.
Every product is scored out of 20 on presentation, aroma, flavour, texture and body. Gold, silver and bronze medals go to entries that meet specific benchmark standards, and only gold medal winners advance to compete for one of sixteen champion trophies. It is a two-stage hurdle, and Wang cleared both in the one run.
Chair of Judges Tiffany Beer described the competition as an opportunity for producers to benchmark their products and receive independent expert feedback, whether presenting something innovative or a home-grown classic.
The 2026 champion in the overall cheese category was Riverine Blue from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese in Victoria, a repeat winner. Among the other champions in the show were a buffalo cream butter, an olive oil, honey, lemon and thyme ice-cream, and a khajoor (date) flavoured milk. Wang’s cheesecake stood alongside those names as one of 16 national champions across Australia’s dairy industry.
From a Fine Dining Kitchen to a Gluten-Free Café on Francis Street
Wang’s path to Francis Street runs through years of professional kitchen work, a pandemic and a conviction that gluten-free desserts had been done badly for long enough.
She trained as a pastry chef and spent years working in fine dining, drawn to the precision and elegance of dessert work. When COVID closed restaurants and she found herself baking at home, she started experimenting with gluten-free formulations, motivated in part by wanting to help people who had limited access to genuinely good sweet options.
“Desserts allowed me the time to go at a slower pace and work with perfection and precision,” Wang said. “The plating, the prep work, the elegance, it suited me perfectly.”
“When lockdowns hit and restaurants closed, I started experimenting at home and I realised there was a huge gap for genuinely good gluten-free desserts. I wanted to help people and I have the skills and knowledge, so I thought, why not give it a go.”
The café opened on Francis Street in September 2024. Wang’s philosophy from the start was that gluten-free should not feel like a compromise. The texture, the balance, the flavour had to come first, and the absence of gluten had to be incidental rather than the point.
“These desserts aren’t replacements, they just naturally happen to be gluten free,” she said. “We bake in small batches using high-quality ingredients and Australian dairy. Gluten free should never feel like a compromise. Texture, balance and flavour always come first.”
A Cheesecake Unlike the Rest
For anyone unfamiliar with the style, a basque cheesecake is defined by a deliberately caramelised, almost burnt top crust and an interior that is soft, creamy and custard-like rather than firm and sliceable. The name comes from the Basque Country in northern Spain, where the style originated and spread globally over the past two decades.
The deliberate caramelisation is the key. Where a classic New York cheesecake aims for a pale, smooth surface, a basque cheesecake goes into a very hot oven without a water bath, allowing the top to colour deeply while the centre stays just barely set. The result is a combination of bittersweet caramel and rich, yielding cream cheese that is unlike anything a traditional cheesecake produces.
Wang’s four competition entries, original, rose honey pistachio, blueberry and coffee, are all available at the café now.
Visit V’s Dessert Gluten Free
V’s Dessert Gluten Free is at Shop 22/2b Francis Street, Dee Why, on the corner of Redman Road. The café is open Thursday to Sunday from 8.30am, with closing times varying. Follow the café on Instagram and Facebook for updates on seasonal flavours, hours and new menu items.
Published 26-April-2026
