1 00:00:01,550 --> 00:00:04,656 Foodie culture is obsessed with authenticity. 2 00:00:04,656 --> 00:00:06,738 But when we get Moroccan honey, 3 00:00:06,738 --> 00:00:08,360 San Marzano tomatoes, 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:10,076 that means shipping food, 5 00:00:10,076 --> 00:00:11,152 carbon emissions, 6 00:00:11,152 --> 00:00:12,410 plenty of waste, 7 00:00:12,410 --> 00:00:14,089 and excess packaging 8 00:00:14,089 --> 00:00:17,639 for food that, sometimes, not even as fresh or as delicious. 9 00:00:17,639 --> 00:00:21,009 Adding COVID-19, and you have a whole new problem: 10 00:00:21,009 --> 00:00:22,391 frozen supply chains 11 00:00:22,391 --> 00:00:24,348 or closed borders. 12 00:00:24,348 --> 00:00:28,085 That's changing how we eat and forcing us to also look at what's local. 13 00:00:28,085 --> 00:00:31,079 Some countries, like Russia, have a lot of experience with this. 14 00:00:32,165 --> 00:00:34,458 MADE IN RUSSIA 15 00:00:36,285 --> 00:00:39,191 (Alec) Jay Klouz has been a nightclub promoter in Spain, 16 00:00:39,191 --> 00:00:41,075 a tour boat owner in France, 17 00:00:41,075 --> 00:00:43,239 and a celebrity chef in Australia. 18 00:00:44,144 --> 00:00:46,269 Now the American lives in Russia 19 00:00:46,269 --> 00:00:48,365 where he's added cheesemaker to the list. 20 00:00:49,054 --> 00:00:52,082 (Klouz) Every person has a different hand, 21 00:00:52,082 --> 00:00:54,050 and this hand makes cheese. 22 00:00:54,050 --> 00:00:55,546 You could be more aggressive, 23 00:00:55,546 --> 00:00:57,103 and you'll have another cheese. 24 00:00:57,103 --> 00:00:58,274 You could be more careful, 25 00:00:58,274 --> 00:00:59,664 and you'll have another cheese. 26 00:00:59,664 --> 00:01:02,245 You can even be half a degree higher, 27 00:01:02,245 --> 00:01:04,166 and you'll have another cheese. 28 00:01:04,166 --> 00:01:07,208 (Alec) Klouz uses local ingredients to make European favorites 29 00:01:07,208 --> 00:01:09,718 like feta, Gouda, and ricotta. 30 00:01:09,718 --> 00:01:13,805 Flavors that began to make their way here after the fall of the Soviet Union. 31 00:01:16,366 --> 00:01:19,320 (Alec) So, I grew up in Wisconsin, 32 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:24,130 and we've always had cheddar, pepper jack, all sorts of-- 33 00:01:24,130 --> 00:01:26,190 you know, real sharp cheeses. 34 00:01:26,190 --> 00:01:27,048 Love this stuff. 35 00:01:27,048 --> 00:01:28,571 And then I came to Russia, 36 00:01:28,571 --> 00:01:32,325 and it was like, cheese was white and didn't taste like anything. 37 00:01:32,325 --> 00:01:33,880 Tastes like plastic. 38 00:01:34,208 --> 00:01:36,711 What made you decide to start making your own cheese? 39 00:01:36,711 --> 00:01:40,126 You know, one thing you learn in Russia, the winters are rough. 40 00:01:40,126 --> 00:01:42,190 The Russians prepare for winter 41 00:01:42,190 --> 00:01:46,122 so, being prepared means, also eating good stuff. 42 00:01:48,570 --> 00:01:51,809 (Alec) For years, Russia imported as much cheese as it produced 43 00:01:51,809 --> 00:01:54,217 until 2014. 44 00:01:56,067 --> 00:01:57,920 Russia annexed Crimea. 45 00:01:58,206 --> 00:02:01,842 The US and the EU slap sanctions on Russia, 46 00:02:01,842 --> 00:02:05,827 and President Putin responded by banning food imports from those countries. 47 00:02:07,451 --> 00:02:10,965 Cheesemakers like Klouz saw sales go way up. 48 00:02:10,965 --> 00:02:13,901 Russian production increased by at least 50%. 49 00:02:14,301 --> 00:02:16,489 (Klouz) Please don't forget to return my spoon. 50 00:02:16,489 --> 00:02:18,308 (Sofia) Yes, return the spoon. Thanks. 51 00:02:19,249 --> 00:02:24,991 After Russia stopped purchasing cheeses abroad, 52 00:02:24,991 --> 00:02:28,280 the cheese market changed a lot. 53 00:02:28,843 --> 00:02:30,277 So we started buying here. 54 00:02:30,277 --> 00:02:35,564 We are very satisfied with the price and quality. 55 00:02:36,906 --> 00:02:39,861 (Alec) And how have the current sanctions changed the industry? 56 00:02:39,861 --> 00:02:43,817 (Klouz) With the sanctions there's more interest in the people making cheese. 57 00:02:43,817 --> 00:02:46,142 Like, "Oh, we don't need you, we have Jay." 58 00:02:46,142 --> 00:02:47,341 I'm like, "Yeah, right." 59 00:02:47,341 --> 00:02:49,793 Fifty kilos a day, how am I going to feed Russians? 60 00:02:51,149 --> 00:02:52,369 "Jay will save us!" 61 00:02:52,369 --> 00:02:54,936 I'm like, what? (laughter) 62 00:02:54,936 --> 00:02:56,326 People are funny here. 63 00:02:59,408 --> 00:03:03,139 (Alec) But some people are more confident in local producers' ability 64 00:03:03,139 --> 00:03:06,657 to fill the giant cheesy hole left by the counter sanctions. 65 00:03:09,837 --> 00:03:13,243 Klrill Sharshukov imported Italian cheese 66 00:03:13,243 --> 00:03:16,562 until the food embargo forced him to start making his own. 67 00:03:17,173 --> 00:03:20,832 (Sharshuko) Here we have caciocavallo cheese. 68 00:03:20,832 --> 00:03:23,032 A classic Italian caciocavallo cheese. 69 00:03:23,032 --> 00:03:29,889 It is fermented for about 6 to 12 months 70 00:03:29,889 --> 00:03:33,362 and has a specific, light taste. 71 00:03:33,802 --> 00:03:37,545 And here we added fenugreek seeds. 72 00:03:40,553 --> 00:03:44,052 Tastes like cheese with with walnut, 73 00:03:44,052 --> 00:03:47,511 kind of a sweet dessert-y crunch. 74 00:03:50,505 --> 00:03:53,082 It doesn't have nuts? 75 00:03:53,082 --> 00:03:58,101 No, no. This doesn't have any nuts, but is has that flavor. 76 00:03:58,101 --> 00:04:02,272 I don't know if this is allowed on TV, 77 00:04:02,272 --> 00:04:04,665 but these seeds are healthy for men, apparently. 78 00:04:06,001 --> 00:04:10,502 So this is delicious and healthy for me? (laughter) 79 00:04:11,643 --> 00:04:12,975 (Alec) After the embargo, 80 00:04:12,975 --> 00:04:15,957 the government started giving out subsidies and tax breaks 81 00:04:15,957 --> 00:04:17,515 to boost domestic production. 82 00:04:18,329 --> 00:04:19,944 Something Sharshuko believes 83 00:04:19,944 --> 00:04:23,166 is giving Russians a chance to catch up to the world's cheesemakers. 84 00:04:24,047 --> 00:04:26,983 (Sharshuko) The longer this goes on, the more experiences we have. 85 00:04:26,983 --> 00:04:30,779 We reproduce Italy's cheeses here, 86 00:04:30,779 --> 00:04:35,266 replace its classic cheeses, and produce them. 87 00:04:35,266 --> 00:04:38,825 So it would be very difficult to return. 88 00:04:39,493 --> 00:04:42,787 (Alec) But the Russian cheese revolution isn't for everybody. 89 00:04:42,787 --> 00:04:46,514 Imported foods were always too expensive for most Russians. 90 00:04:46,514 --> 00:04:50,837 Meaning locally-made burrata will probably never be on their shopping list. 91 00:04:51,782 --> 00:04:53,139 And economists are skeptical 92 00:04:53,139 --> 00:04:55,619 that the people who could afford fancy cheese 93 00:04:55,619 --> 00:04:57,293 are going to see local versions 94 00:04:57,293 --> 00:05:00,371 as anything other than a secondary substitute. 95 00:05:00,371 --> 00:05:03,954 When we imported cheese, it had quality. 96 00:05:03,954 --> 00:05:08,163 We, the small portion of affluent people, got used to it. 97 00:05:08,163 --> 00:05:10,166 When that cheese disappeared, 98 00:05:10,166 --> 00:05:17,223 those people stopped buying Russian copies of cheese 99 00:05:17,374 --> 00:05:19,347 because they don't trust the quality. 100 00:05:19,574 --> 00:05:23,571 Well, I hear from the cheese producers-- 101 00:05:24,031 --> 00:05:25,799 Russian cheese producers-- 102 00:05:25,919 --> 00:05:28,419 who say sanctions have been a huge help. 103 00:05:28,702 --> 00:05:33,574 Those you spoke to are very few because, as a matter of fact, 104 00:05:33,574 --> 00:05:36,874 90% of the Russian cheese market 105 00:05:37,047 --> 00:05:39,332 is mass market cheeses. 106 00:05:39,501 --> 00:05:41,524 I wanted to ask what will happen 107 00:05:41,524 --> 00:05:47,222 to Russian cheesemakers if sanctions are lifted tomorrow? 108 00:05:47,722 --> 00:05:51,754 There will be competition again for 15 to 20% 109 00:05:51,754 --> 00:05:55,472 of wealthy people in Russia. 110 00:05:55,845 --> 00:06:01,343 People who have invested in cheese production 111 00:06:01,746 --> 00:06:03,803 will be hit hard. 112 00:06:04,978 --> 00:06:08,032 (Alec) The drive for food Independence has protected Russia 113 00:06:08,032 --> 00:06:11,412 from supply disruptions during the pandemic, the government says. 114 00:06:12,933 --> 00:06:16,218 It's also helped a fledgling, farm-to-table movement here. 115 00:06:17,578 --> 00:06:19,732 - Five more minutes. - No, two and a half. 116 00:06:20,649 --> 00:06:24,857 (Alec) Ivan and Sergey Berezutskly have their own farm to produce ingredients 117 00:06:24,857 --> 00:06:26,069 for their restaurant, 118 00:06:26,069 --> 00:06:30,031 which in 2019 was named one of the best in the world. 119 00:06:30,251 --> 00:06:34,887 It's a simple dish: potato with caviar. 120 00:06:35,751 --> 00:06:37,155 Here you are. 121 00:06:38,405 --> 00:06:45,935 The majority of our guests need healthy and fresh food. 122 00:06:45,935 --> 00:06:51,542 This is a development Russia and other countries have come to. 123 00:06:51,542 --> 00:06:54,007 The sanctions have accelerated the process.