A Memorable Experience in Umami: Sake and Cheese Pairing

20 June 2019:

Japanese sake, with its rounded mouthfeel, subtle richness, delicate acidity and most importantly an abundance of umami, the fifth taste, makes it a very versatile alcoholic beverage. Cheese, a protein-rich food, with umami-charged compounds derived from the amino acids, and its creamy, rich texture, is just the perfect match with Japanese sake, and even better with the pure and clean Junmai sake by Katsuyama Shuzo.

 

Sake & Cheese Pairing

Established in 1688 to brew top-quality sake for the feudal lords of the Sendai Domain, founded by Japan’s most famous and respected samurai, Date Masaume, today this venerable brewery, using a combination of state-of-the-art and time-intense ancient techniques, only produces Junmai-shu (1), that highlights clean umami taste and unique profile that pairs with any cuisine. Amongst its range of Junmai-shu, five representative styles were chosen to deliver the anticipated pairing with a selection of French and Italian cheeses (2).

Five sake styles selected for this tasting
From left, Ken, Den, Akatsuki, En, Lei

Ken, Junmai Ginjo (50% seimaibuai (3) and 16% abv), produced by the fukuro-shibori (4) method, represents a whistle-clean, elegant and dry mineral style, with delicate acidity balancing the supple and rounded texture. The sake leaves the palate with a clean and dry minerality. The flavour profile is citrus, apple and a hint of pineapple. With this sake, we paired with Calisson, a raw goat milk cheese with an ashed rind, inspired by the famous diamond-shaped bonbon from Aix-en-Provence, le calisson d’Aix. The aromatic herbal and nutty character was more pronounced in its demi-affiné condition, leaving the palate with a delicate tangy and mineral note. This cheese tasted like a treat with Ken Junmai Ginjo.

 

Calisson

Den (35% seimaibuai and 16% abv), also produced by the fukuro-shibori method, is a quintessential Junmai Daiginjo, with distinct fruity aromas of banana, grapes and apple, along with a well-balanced rich texture without the weight. It harmoniously delivers the umami taste. This sake paired well with a number of the cheeses presented but it made a particularly decent pair with the washed rind cow milk cheese, Langres from the Grand Est region of France. The Langres at our tasting showed the distinct hollow (“fontaine”) at the top, with a wrinkled orange rind, and an ivory silky mousse-like core at the centre. At the rind, there was a pungent bacon character, with more fruity, creamy note in the core. The intense flavours and rich texture were balanced by the sake's acidity. The sake’s richness complemented the rich texture of the cheese and the fruity character of the sake also matched the pungent notes.

 

Langres

An equally remarkable pairing was with the Brie de Melun. This raw cow-milk bloomy rind cheese with its pronounced barnyard, cep-like aromatics, subtle fruit notes, and rich, creamy texture, went remarkably well with Den. A great example of umami flavours at work.

Brie de Melun

A signature sake by Katsuyama Shuzo, Akatsuki, with 35% Seimaibuai and 16% alcohol, is a Junmai Daiginjo in its own class. This off-dry style sake represents the perfect harmony of minerality, flavour intensity, refreshing acidity and concentration, leaving the palate with a lingering umami finish. Produced in very small quantities using the Enshi-shibori (5) method, this sake reminded me of a delicate and elegant Mosel Riesling. The art of the production of this sake was in preserving flavour intensity while retaining the clean delicate texture. Two pairings stood out in particular.


For a more subtle pairing, we tried it with the Satonnay Aux Fleurs, a fresh raw goat milk cheese coated with floral petals (cornflower, rose, badiane, etc), produced in the Bourgogne region. The sweet floral notes of the cheese, with the fresh mineral note of the goat cheese, delivered a delicate pairing with Akatsuki, neither sake nor cheese overpowering the other. Like a stroll in the spring meadows!

 

Satonnay Aux Fleurs

For an absolute hands-down pairing, it had to be the Persillé de Tignes with the Akatsuki. This unique cheese in a cylindrical shape made by single producer, Paulette Marmottan in the French Savoie region, using raw milk from her herd of around 80 goats and 20 cows, stole the show with its complex flavour profile, tangy lactic, fruity and hazelnut at the core, expanding to damp cellar and mushroom at the rind, tingling the palate with its delicate saltiness and refreshing acidity. When paired with Aktasuki, the intensity of the flavours went up one notch. This was umami in symphony! Absolutely amazing.

 

Persille de Tignes

The previous three sake styles were all made with Yamada Nishiki rice, but the last two sake styles were made using a table rice called Hitomebore.


En, Tokubetsu Junmai, has a distinct hint of sweetness and rice-based umami note. It has a balanced earthy note, with a nashi pear crunch at the finish. With this sake, we paired it with an Italian cheese, Pecorino Toscano Oro. This is a sheep milk cheese, handselected by the cheesemakers to be transformed into the Oro Antico style (referring to the golden hue of the paste of the finished cheese). The aromatics were pineapple, dried fruit, lanolin with a distinct buttery note. The flavours were earthy and citrus, with a lingering pineapple note. This cheese showed a good level of salt and acidity. The pairing with En was superb, sake and cheese complementing each other in the earthy and fruity notes, and contrasting the light saltiness of the cheese with the delicate sweetness of the cheese. A pairing that did not tire the palate.

 

Pecorino Toscano Oro

Lei Sapphire, Junmai Ginjo, with its alcohol level of 12% and 55% seimaibuai, is distinctly sweet and fruity. It reminded us of a Spätlese style Riesling. This style was created to suit the palate of those new to sake, but also as a sweet rich style to go with meat sauces with distinct sweetness. My favourite pairing for this sake was with Mimolette Extra Vieille, that never fails to remind me of soya sauce. Hailing from Nord-Pas-de-Calais of France, the Mimolette Extra Vieille with its 24 months of aging, showed pronounced savoury, earthy and yeasty notes, like marmite, overlaid with a caramelised tone, thanks to the hardwork of the microscopic cheesemites. This cheese was the epitome of umami. The texture was dense, hard, almost dry, with bitter finish. When paired with Lei Sapphire, it was like the sake coating each bite of Mimolette, resulting in an explosion of umami flavours in your palate. Heavenly! Still savouring this!

 

Mimolette Extra Vieille

Finally we paired the Lei Sapphire with a subtle blue cheese, Gorgonzola Dolce, the cow milk blue cheese from Piemonte/Lombardia. This was produced by a family-owned farm Caseificio Tosi. Gorgonzola Dolce is a cheese made for gourmands, creamily indulgent like a dessert, with lively acidity, good dose of salt and mild blue notes just enough to tingle the palate, without being aggressive at all.

Gorgonzola Dolce (courtesy: www.buonissimo.hk)

A beautiful end to this umami-filled experience. An experience to be remembered! (And repeated!!!)


I wish to thank Jacky Cheng, the sake expert of Berry Bros & Rudd HK, for guiding us through this special tasting of Katsuyama sake, and to Enrique Romera of Buonissimo (www.buonissimo.hk) for providing the gorgeous Italian cheeses!

 

Thank you to everyone for sharing this experience with me!
Venue: Metropolitan Workshop

Notes:

1 Sake made with rice, water and koji, with no addition of alcohol

2 All the French cheese were sourced from La Cremerie, Wanchai and all the Italian cheeses from Buonissimo (www.buonissimo.hk)

3 Seimaibuai: Rice polishing rate, expressed as the amount of rice grain that remains after polishing

4 Fukuro-shibori: an ancient drip method that separates the clear sake by hanging in filter bags and allowing gravity to separate the clear sake from the sediments

5 Enshi-shibori: pressing using a centrifugal separator

English Artisanal Cheeses Delighting Hong Kong Gourmets' Palates

21 February 2019

It did come as a bit of surprise to some in the room that such great cheeses were made in England. At Cheese & Wine HK’s first tasting event, I had prepared a selection of eight different cheeses from different counties in England, served with two lovely sparkling wines from Coates & Seely hailing from Hampshire. While preparing for this, I was captivated by the story behind each cheese, such as the long distance Mary Holbrook would drive weekly to nurture her Old Ford cheeses maturing at Neal’s Yard Dairy, or a cheese (Stichelton) born from the revival of use of raw milk in the making of Stilton; or indeed the elements that made each cheese so authentic, such as the milk from the adorable Anglo Nubian goats in the making of Sinodun Hill, or the meadows feeding the Montbéliarde cows that would give such richness and complexity to Baron Bigod.


Our flight of eight cheeses included:

Sinodun Hill (Oxfordshire)

Though a relatively new cheese, only in production since 2016, Sinodun Hill has already been winning awards. Sinodun Hill is the proper name for the Wittenham Clumps, just above the Earth Trust Farm, where the goats graze.

A raw goat-milk bloomy rind cheese, with a wrinkled cream-coloured rind, that feels dry and downy to the touch. Runny ivory-coloured paste under the rind, velvety and mousse-like in the centre.

Delicate lactic and sweet aromas and flavours dominate, reminding one of fresh hay and spring meadow flowers, very delicate caprine notes blending with citrus, pineapple and honey notes. A well-balanced cheese, with medium+ salt and medium acidity. The paste is almost like thickly whipped cream.

A delicately flavoured cheese that symbolises springtime freshness.


Baron Bigod (Suffolk)

Made to a French recipe, Baron Bigod is the only farmstead Brie-de-Meaux style cheese made with raw milk in the UK. The richness of this cheese owes much to the diverse grasses and herbs that grow on the grazing land of Stow Fen, where the Montbéliarde cows graze.

A raw cow-milk bloomy rind cheese, with brown spots showing through the downy rind, and a lemon-cream coloured soft paste, which flows out at room temperature. High salt, medium+ acidity, with a slightly bitter finish, characteristic of this cheese style. Mushroom, straw and buttery cream complete the aromas and flavours. A rich, unctuous and luxuriant cheese that oozes out and covers your palate. Long finish.

This cheese is the pinnacle of bloomy rinds!


Winslade (Hampshire)

Winslade was developed as a sibling to Tunworth (Camembert-style cheese). It is somewhere between a Camembert style and Vacherin Mont d'or style cheese.

A cow-milk washed rind cheese, with the characteristic tan-orange rind, and an ivory-coloured soft to runny paste, depending on the room temperature. The spruce band gives it a typical pine woody note. It has light mushroom note, with butter and hazelnut nuances. The richness is balanced by a lovely tangy finish.

A cheese that appeals to gourmets.


St Cera (Suffolk)

St Cera is a collaboration between cheesemaker Julie Cheyney and the maturation team at Neal's Yard Dairy. Using milk provided by Jonny Crickmore at Fen Farm, Julie has perfected this small, spoonable washed rind cow's milk cheese.

A raw cow-milk washed rind cheese, with a light golden coloured sticky rind, over a runny cream-coloured paste. It is a richly flavoured cheese, that exudes intense farmyard and fermented aromas, complemented by floral (chamomile) and nutty (hazelnut) notes. A rich and unctuous cheese that is packed with flavours and has a chewy texture to the rind but melting texture underneath.

Small and punchy!


Spenwood (Berkshire)

Cheesemaker Anne Wigmore was inspired by a piece of pecorino while visiting Sardinia. Named after the Berkshire village where it originated, Spencers Wood.

A sheep-milk pressed uncooked cheese, with a light brown/orange rind occasionally with some white spots, and a cream coloured supple paste. Floral, caramel and nutty notes. Almost claggy in the mouth. Medium salt and medium acidity, with a very long finish. Nutty and sweet.


Sparkenhoe Red Leicester (Warwickshire, bordering with Leicestershire)

After a half century absence, David and Jo Clarke brought farmhouse Red Leicester back to England. Handmade since 2005, Sparkenhoe is a farmhouse Red Leicester and the only unpasteurised version presently available.

A raw cow-milk pressed uncooked cheese. The rind is dry, with a grey/brown colour, over an orange supple and slightly crumbly paste. The wet earthy notes remind one of rain-drenched earth. Buttery, butterscotch, fruity aromas and flavours complete the spectrum. The paste is supple and has an elastic/chewy texture. Medium salt level, finishing with a tangy acidity, and a persistent finish.

A marvellously crafted cheese with a strong heritage.


Old Ford (Somerset)

Old Ford is made by Mary Holbrook on Sleight Farm. It is made when the seasonal milk production peaks, usually between May and July.

A raw goat-milk pressed uncooked cheese that has a dry grey rind, over a granular dry crumbly ivory coloured paste. There is a dominant savoury and nutty character, over a caprine flavour, together with a grassy, pineapple and citrus tangy note. Medium acidity, medium salt.

A well-balanced aged goat milk cheese that is so complex and original.


Stichelton (Nottinghamshire)

Raw milk, Stilton-recipe blue cheese had disappeared from the UK for 18 years when Joe Schneider with the help of Randolph Hodgson began making it at Stichelton Dairy in 2006. A PDO Stilton can only be made in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or Leicestershire – and only to a specific recipe using pasteurised milk. The Stilton Cheesemakers Association refused Joe’s request to allow raw milk Stilton to be produced. Thus was born Stichelton!

A raw cow-milk blue cheese, with a dry natural rind that is brown/orange, and an ivory coloured paste with a crumbly texture evenly dispersed with blue veins. Prominent notes of caramel and butter, with harmonious blue flavours, nuts, toast and some umami (like Bovril). There is a faint bitterness at the finish. A creamy texture that coats your palate, but tastes drier towards the rind. High acidity, with a medium+ salt level.

A very harmonious blue cheese experience.



As for the wine pairing, the sparklings did a very versatile job in pairing with most of the cheeses, except perhaps for the blue cheese, when a bottle of 1963 Colheita Port was opened to the rescue!

I loved the space at Metropolitan Workshop

These are all great stories and interesting details that keep our passion for artisanal cheeses alive. When you next taste a piece of cheese, think about how and why it tastes so delicious! You may find yourself rolling in daffodils and buttercups! 

 

Talking Cheese with Ivy: Who is Yanzi Wang?

Interview with Yanzi Wang, Operations Manager of Mongolian Artisan Cheesemakers Union (MACU), February 2019

Map of Mongolia (Source: geology.com)

During my training with Academie MONS, I discovered the network of MONS alumni reached as far as Mongolia, a landlocked country bordered by two giant states, China to the south and Russia to the north. With a population of around 3 million and a surface area of 1.5 million sq km, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated sovereign state in the world. About 45% of its population lives in Ulaanbaatar, one of the coldest capitals in the world. The country’s landscape is mountainous in the north and west, and dry and arid conditions from the Gobi Desert dominate the south. It is therefore not surprising that there exists very little arable land. A nation deriving from Genghis Khan’s early 13th Century Mongol Empire, today about 30% of its population is nomadic or semi-nomadic. Market economy came late to Mongolia, which only obtained its independence from China in 1921, but fell under control by the Soviet Union in subsequent years. Mongolia eventually underwent its own democratic revolutionary process in 1990, leading to a multi-party government and transition to market economy.

Yanzi Wang and her daughter Mao Mao

My curiosity about this alumnus hailing from Mongolia steered me to contact her via Sue Sturman, Academie MONS’s Anglophone Director. What I then learnt from Yanzi Wang and her husband Mike Morrow was a very inspiring story of vision, passion, survival and persistence.

Tumurkhuyag Urtnasan

It all started in 2014 when Mike was introduced to Tumurkhuyag Urtnasan, the doyen of Mongolia’s artisan cheesemaking industry and the maker of Mongolia’s most famous cheese Khustai Gouda. Tumurkhuyag has been making cheese in a remote atelier since 1995, working alone most of the year on a mountain steppe about 80 kilometres southwest of Ulaanbaatar. One important lesson in Mongolian artisan cheesemaking that Mike learnt from the cheese guru is that it needs to be practised where the animals pasture during the 100 days of summer when the mother animals are in full lactation and their young are strong enough not to require all the milk produced, thus creating a milk surplus.

Khustai Gouda

The American-Chinese couple began their year-long research into the socio-economic aspects of herding communities with the objective of identifying a feasible business model. Herder families principally derive their income from selling cashmere combed from goats in spring and selling meat and hides in the fall. During the hundred days of summer, herder incomes are low and labour is in surplus. If they could sell surplus milk for money, this would provide useful summer income and money for children’s education. By selling excess milk, the productivity of animals would be increased and herders would be encouraged to avoid overstocking and to better manage pasture conditions to improve quality and quantity of milk. This would not only improve animal husbandry practice but also help sustain the environment.

Mongolian ladies milking goats

Mongol Alatau Nomadic Pastoral Cheese Cow

Thus, Mongolian Artisanal Cheesemakers Union (MACU) was conceived in 2016, based on a networked socio-ecological entrepreneurship model. Yanzi and Mike soon realised that self-funding the business could take a long time to realise their goals and they could accelerate it by inviting a third party for capital contribution and sound business advice. Arvintsogt Ragchaa, one of the founders of Newcom Group, one of Mongolia’s most reputable business conglomerates, joined MACU as a Director in August 2017.






MACU currently has three subsidiaries, including its White Mountain Cheesemaking Plant built to international standards, and a cheese ripening facility. MACU plays multiple roles. It primarily sources investors and herders who are interested to become shareholders of cheesemaking plants. The estimated capital outlay for each cheesemaking facility is around USD 100,000-150,000, depending on location and capacity. Given the geographic spread of “sums” (districts) in Mongolia, each cheesemaking plant has different shareholders. Each MACU cheesemaking facility is committed to purchasing the milk from around 50 herders in each community at Mongolian Tugrik MNT 500 per litre (approx. USD 0.18 per litre), on the assumption that each family supplies 40 litres of milk on a daily basis during the hundred days. The price paid for milk will depend on quality of milk and animal breed. (In Mongolia, cheese can be made from the milk of cows, yaks, khainag (hybrid between cow and yak), goats, sheep and camels.) MACU’s management and technical personnel is committed to providing installation consultation, technical support and staff training to enable the cheesemaking plant to be suitably equipped and staffed to produce cheese to international standards and develop and create its own range of cheese products. MACU is committed to purchasing the freshly made cheeses, ripening them, marketing and selling them during the first five years of operation, at an agreed price. The cheeses will be sold either under the MACU brand or an independent brand. Where requested, MACU can also undertake to be the turnkey project manager and act as the initial plant manager for an arm’s length fee.

White Mountain Cheesemaking Plant

MACU’s vision is to build a network of 100 plants by 2024, with total production capacity of 1,000 tons of cheese per year (roughly 1 million kg per year). When fully operational, the plants are envisaged to employ about 500-750 people and provide summer income of USD 800 per family to about 5,000 families.



With this new source of summer income, children will have the opportunity to be educated when previously this potential income did not exist. Locals will be trained to become skilled workers and cheesemakers at each plant. MACU hopes that the prestige associated with the production of high quality products that generate meaningful income will serve to partially reverse the urban migration trend and help continue the nomadic pastoralism traditions. By-products from the cheese production can provide additional income, such as whey processing into animal feed, candy, baked goods and nutraceutical products. Herders can develop ancillary businesses to complement cheesemaking, such as honey production and production of winter fodder. In time, each “sum” will develop greater economic strength, stronger advancement opportunities for its people and a skilled and empowered workforce.



Aside from sourcing investors and building the network of cheesemaking plants, one of MACU’s most imminent tasks is developing the export markets, primarily to China and Russia, but also with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong in sight. The company is currently actively seeking distributors in these three markets. To develop export markets, MACU needs to build the brand, its credibility and consistency in quality.



Yanzi and Mike have embarked on a long and challenging journey to give socio-economic and ecological sustainability to nomadic communities and to developing Mongolia into a world-recognised producer of cheese when currently more than 95% of Mongolia’s own cheese consumption is met with imports. The journey has been fraught with challenges but also filled with rewards, rewards of being recognised by the privileged few who have had the opportunity to taste their products. The success of MACU will be Yanzi and Mike’s legacy to this landlocked country.



Yanzi is MACU’s Operations Manager and cheesemaker. She originally comes from Ying Xian 应县in Shanxi 山西 province, China. Her village is famous for the “Muta” 木塔, the tallest and oldest fully wooden pagoda in China, built in 1056 by the Khitan people, ancestors of the Mongols, when they led the Liao Dynasty. Fate had her sent to Mongolia from Beijing, where she was working in a different industry. In 2014, her husband Mike decided that cheesemaking would become the family business after his encounter with Tumurkhuyag Urtnasan. Mike had the vision but not the ‘touch’. So Yanzi took up the profession and enrolled into a number of training programmes to get up to speed in the shortest time possible. She completed most of her training in France and the UK. Her expertise is fresh, soft, bloomy rind and semi-hard cheeses. She created cheeses such as “Tsaagankhar”, “Piko” and “Larch” for the White Mountain Cheesemaking Plant’s major hotel clients, such as Ulaanbaatar’s Shangri-La and Kempinski Hotels.



I caught up with Yanzi on her return from China after the Chinese New Year holidays, while Mike had been battling with a broken septic tank, a crashed phone and an urgent need to recruit a new cheesemaker. Yanzi was very kind to share with us her background, experience and thoughts on cheesemaking for Asians.



IN: How and when did you decide to become a cheesemaker? Was there a particular incident or personality that triggered your interest in taking up this career?


YZW: I began to get interested in 2014. In 2016 we set up an experimental atelier in an abandoned student cafeteria near the Mongolian Agriculture University. We tried to train others but they did not stay. [During this experimental phase], I discovered I had a feel for the milk and my cheeses weren't so bad.



IN: Do you remember how you felt when you tasted the first cheese you made?

YZW: Being Chinese from the countryside, it was all new to me. At first, I didn't like any cheese. It was more the challenge of making cheeses that people liked that got me to begin paying attention to smell, taste and texture - especially that of Mozzarella and Brie. I discovered that I’m pretty good at it. I have a sensitive nose and acute taste buds and I can ‘feel’ the curd!



IN: Which is your favourite cheese amongst the cheeses that you make? Please tell us what it tastes like. And why it is your favourite?

YZW: I am happy with my Mozzarella and bloomy rind cheeses. But I kind of invented a semi-hard cow-milk cheese we call “Larch”. I'm still developing it. It's buttery and a little acidic when young, but gets progressively more nutty and fungal. I like to let the rind harden rough and brown like a Pecorino. It’s my favorite because I worked it up myself and I like tasting it myself, and because others like it too.

A selection of MACU cheeses

IN: Is making cheese in Mongolia very different from making cheese in Europe or US, using France, UK and USA as examples? What are the principal challenges and advantages?

YZW: I studied in France with Mons for less than a month, made Cheddar for a couple of days in England, and spent a few days visiting small cheesemakers in the US. I don't know much. We are beginners. Everything here is difficult, but also everything is open. We also have good quality whole milk directly from the animals. We have yaks, goats, sheep and camels as well as cows. Mongolia is one big grassland with various micro environments and wild grass of various kinds everywhere. It's paradise for creative cheesemakers if you can put up with all the problems and the climate, which is sunny but harsh.



IN: Historically in Europe, cheesemaking was a woman's job at the farm and the technique was passed from mother to daughter. Would you recommend cheesemaking to other women in Mongolia as a profession? Why or why not?

YZW: It is the same here. Unlike Chinese, Mongolian women have a long, rich association with milk animals, milking and making things from milk. Cheese in the European sense didn't develop because of the nomadic lifestyle and very cold and dry climate, but cheesemaking comes easily to Mongolian country women. We don't have to recommend cheesemaking to women here. Some are already making European cheeses. We are training more. More will follow naturally as artisan cheesemaking gets better established here.

Mongolian ladies milking sheep

Milking yaks and khainag

IN: As the MACU logo suggests, cheesemakers in Mongolia work with milk from different animals – goats, sheep, cows, yaks and camels. You learnt cheesemaking in France and the UK. Could you share with us how you have had to adapt certain techniques to work with different milk origins?


YZW: I personally only work with cow's milk. But even that is different. As a result of the wild, hardy grasses and the dry conditions, the cows may give only 4 liters of milk instead of the normal 40 litres, and the dry climate makes cheesemaking very different here. The milk smells stronger and earthier here. I also feel it when I run my hands through the milk. Perhaps it is because we only use whole milk to make cheese here.

Other of our [MACU] cheesemakers are making cheese with whole yak milk. It's got up to 8% butterfat. These are great cooking cheeses. Mike is busy developing cheeses from other animals with other cheesemakers, but so far I only eat them!

I make cheese at our own White Mountain cheese plant on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. To get yak and goat and sheep milk one has to go to other parts of Mongolia. We're working with local partners in such places. They come to White Mountain for training. Maybe this summer I will get a chance to go to them and make cheeses from other milks.

I like Pecorino so I am most interested in trying my hand at sheep milk cheeses.



IN: Which cheese do you admire the most from Europe? Why do you admire it?

YZW: I like Pecorino. It’s so many cheeses in one, changing from one to the other depending on how you age it. It also seems to change noticeably from one locale or cheesemaker to another. Also, most people seem to like it.

I make an imitation peppered Pecorino from cow's milk. We call it “Tsagaankhar” (White-Black). It is a great buffet cheese. The serving dish empties quickly. But if I teach someone else to make it, it won’t be the same cheese.

A selection of Pecorino cheeses on display at BRA

Mike Morrow

IN: What motivates you? What drives you?

YZW: Survival. My husband is crazy.



IN: Who is your hero? Is there a personality who has inspired you the most in your life? Or a cheesemaker you would like to create a cheese with?


YZW: Susan Sturman is not a cheesemaker exactly, but she arranged my training in France and helped me when I had difficulty because of the language barrier. She is an example to me of how cheesemaking can be more than a business, how it can be an activity that builds understanding and friendship from one part of the world to another.

Sue Sturman

IN: What is your vision/ambition for Mongolian cheeses?

YZW: We have worked very hard to establish Mongolian cheeses. Our goal is to develop a network of 100 cheese plants and at least 200 good cheeses.



IN: What will be your advice to fellow Mongolians or Asians who wish to enter into the cheese profession, either as a cheesemaker or cheesemonger?

YZW: Don't do it if you aren't prepared for a lot of difficulties and frustrations. Don't forget it is a business. But also make it more than a business. Focus on being as good as you can be. Quality precedes quantity in artisan cheesemaking.


IN: If you were a cheese, which one it would be? And why?

YZW: I already answered that -- a Pecorino. It's a cheese for all seasons, an interesting cheese that most people like.

Talking Cheese with Ivy Ng: Who is Myriam Bilbault?

25 January 2019 (updated on 10 July 2019):

Riding on the success of its wine bars in Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore, French-owned and operated group, Le Quinze Vins (“LQV”), opened the much-anticipated artisanal French cheese specialist, La Crèmerie, on Swatow Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong, in July 2017. With a compact temperature and humidity-controlled "cave" (aging cellar) at the back of the shop, La Crèmerie is able to offer to cheese connoisseurs a selection of cheeses, especially the soft-ripened and goat cheeses, at various stages of "affinage" (maturity). LQV has since opened another one-stop French gourmet concept on Caine Road in the Mid-Levels district, bringing French meat, cheese, more than 1,000 references of wine and other gourmet products to this rejuvenated residential neighbourhood, popular amongst the young legal and financial professionals in Hong Kong's CBD. The space features a wine bar in LQV's signature contemporary minimalist design that opened in April this year.  The group has recently introduced an online shop featuring their most popular products, available for delivery or collection at the shop). (www.lqv-group.com)

La Cremerie, Swatow Street, Wanchai

Born in 1990, Myriam Bilbault lived the first years of her life on the island of Réunion before returning to France when she was 12. Her father had taken over a farm in Limousin in 2004 and the family then settled in this region in the centre of France. Myriam pursued hospitality studies in Chamalières, near Clermont-Ferrand. After having worked a few internships at different gastronomic restaurants, she decided to return to her first passion - cheese. Having seen how little recognition is received for the extraordinary amount of hard work required on the farm, she went in search of an internship at a cheesemonger. In 2011, she started her internship at the family-owned cheesemonger Fromager Alain Michel in Annecy, an affluent French town bordering Switzerland. With some encouragement and much support from Alain, Myriam took part in a number of competitions which allowed her to learn a lot about herself and also the career in cheese. At the National Cheesemonger Championships, being part of the International Hotel, Catering, and Food Trade Exhibition (SIRHA) in January 2013 in Lyon, Myriam took home the third place as well as the title of first place in the Under 26 category.

 

The top 3 winners of the National Cheesemonger Championships in January 2013

Myriam's cheese platter that won her third place and top position in the Under 26 group

With the Certificat de Qualification Professionnel en fromagerie (“CQP”) in her hand, Myriam was ready to explore the world. In 2015, she left Annecy to travel and learn English in Australia. She worked at Spring Street Grocer in Melbourne before leaving for New Zealand where she wanted to get work in a vineyard. Fortunately for us in Hong Kong, Myriam did not stay long and was approached by LQV to take charge of their new cheese shop in Hong Kong. No persuasion needed! At age 27, Myriam readily accepted this challenging and exciting offer and landed in Hong Kong in July 2017.


Cheese Master, Myriam Bilbault CQP, speaks to Ivy Ng about her experience with cheese, her aspirations and vision.


IN: When and how did you decide to become a cheesemonger?

MB: Even though I already had experience of working with cheese alongside my father since 2004, it was not until the summer of 2011 when I started my internship at Fromager Alain Michel (La Crèmerie du Lac) that I decided I would build my career on cheese.

At the time, I was looking for an inspiration, something that would get me excited. Cheese is a living product - we never know exactly how it is going to evolve. This is what makes it so exciting in our profession. The products are never the same.

La Cremerie du Lac where Myriam cut her teeth in cheesemongering

Alain Michel

IN: What are some of the lessons you can share with young people who wish to join this industry?

MB: Just follow your dreams and ambitions. Never be afraid to go further. Whether it is this industry or another, as long as you are passionate about the product you are working with and you do your job whole-heartedly, you will be rewarded with success.

 

Myriam cherishing her recognised success in 2013

IN: Is working as a cheesemonger in Hong Kong very different from working as a cheesemonger in France or Australia?

MB: In general, people here are less well educated about cheese but they are very nice once you get to know them. It takes more work to arouse their interest and to encourage them to taste more and different cheeses. Once they have a taste of something different, they will be better persuaded to buy cheeses other than the classic ones, such as Comté or Brie. After a year and a half in Hong Kong, I have definitely noticed a change in customer purchases – there is now more diversity. Also, here people are not afraid to say they do not know – they are more humble than the customers in France or in Australia.

As for my fellow compatriots, they are much nicer than the ones in France and they are open to discuss with you! 😊 This is very refreshing!

Space is an issue in Hong Kong – it is a bit limited here. Also, it is difficult for us to source exactly what we want, whether it is equipment, grocery products or cheeses. We do not always have access to the best quality possible. As far as managing lead time for product shipment, it can be a challenge sometimes with so many different festivals and public holidays in the year.



IN: How have you found the cheese ‘palate’ of Hong Kong local customers?

MB: They used to buy mainly Comté and Brie but have begun to be interested in other less conventional selections. They have become much more open to new suggestions since we opened in July 2017. This is a positive change!



IN: Who is your hero in life? Who has inspired you the most?

MB: There are many who have guided me along the way, but I would like to say my hero in life is my father. My father is not very polished but he has always pursued what he wanted to do. He has never allowed anything to stop him from following his dreams. He has encouraged me to do what I wanted to do, to always go further even if the road can be difficult at times, and to never give up until a solution is found. He has taught me to be demanding on myself (and others!)!



IN: What is your vision for La Crèmerie and cheese in Hong Kong?

MB: I am very optimistic. I expect that we will continue to grow. I would like to go further and not stop at just Hong Kong. We need to improve on the things we do less well and continue to develop. 

Myriam about to cut a slice of Comte!

Myriam serving clients at La Cremerie

IN: What is your best cheese experience? Your best cheese and wine pairing?

MB: I want to say that my most treasured experience with cheese is tasting the fresh cheese in “faisselle” that my father makes at the farm. Otherwise, for a cheese and wine pairing, it would be a Sancerre with a Crottin de Chavignol “demi-affiné” (semi-aged).



IN: What do you do to relax when you are not working with cheese?

MB: I love walking by the seaside or going on a hike. I also go to the gym which relaxes me.



IN: Do you have a favourite cheese dish or a favourite cheese creation and why?

MB: I do not really have a favourite dish based on cheese. I like them all equally. But I do like adding cheese to my dishes, salads, etc.

As for a specialist cheese creation, I love Stilton marinated in Port wine. I like the texture of Stilton, which is a bit dry and crumbly and yet it melts so beautifully in the mouth. Port wine has notes of dried fruit and its sweetness softens the strong taste of the cheese.



IN: If you were a cheese, which one would it be and why?

MB: If I were a cheese, I would say a Tomme au Génépi – natural, a little sharp in taste, firm, aromatic, genuine with character. You either like it or not – there is no halfway!

(IN: Génépi is a herbal liqueur very popular in the Alpine regions, and it is also the plant "wormwood" of the family Artemisia that gives this liqueur the distinct aroma, flavour and colour.)
 

Tomme au Genepi