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A passion for native ingredients, the environment and sustainable industry drives the Brook family’s businesses.

Thirty years ago Pam and Martin Brook bought a run-down dairy farm in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Today that farm produces 50 tonnes of macadamias a year.

Their business, Brookfarm, makes around 780 tonnes of products every year, including mueslis, granolas, snack mixes, porrij, and macadamia oil.

Most recently, they have branched into distilling with a calendar on Pam’s bedside table counting down to the day their whisky will be ready. The distillery – Cape Byron Distillery – is located on a hillside on the farm, looking out across the macadamia orchard.

The Brooks started out selling three different mueslis at the local Bangalow markets while turning to the unenviable task of restoring the property to the rainforest it was meant to be. They have planted more than 35,000 subtropical rainforest trees.

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