WEBVTT

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Foodie culture is obsessed
with authenticity.

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But when we get Moroccan honey,

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San Marzano tomatoes,

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that means shipping food, 
carbon emissions,

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plenty of waste and excess packaging

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for food that, sometimes, 
not even as fresh or delicious.

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Adding COVID-19,
and you have a whole new problem.

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Frozen supply chains or closed borders.

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That's changing how we eat and
forcing us to also look what's local.

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Some countries like Russia 
have a lot of experience with this.

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MADE IN RUSSIA

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(Alec) <i>Jay Klouz has been
a nightclub promoter in Spain,</i>

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<i>a tour boat owner in France,
and a celebrity chef in Australia.</i>

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<i>Now, the American lives in Russia 
where he's added cheesemaker to the list.</i>

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(Jay) Every person has a different hand
and this hand makes cheese.

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You could be more aggressive
and you'll have another cheese.

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You could be more careful
and you'll have another cheese.

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You can even go half a degree higher
and you'll have another cheese.

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(Alec) <i>Klouz uses local ingredients 
to make European favorites,</i>

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<i>like feta, gouda, and ricotta.</i>

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<i>Flavors that began to make their way here 
after the fall of the Soviet Union.</i>

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(Alec) So, I grew up in Wisconsin, 
and we always had, you know,

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we had cheddar, pepper jack, all sorts of,
you know, real sharp cheeses.

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Love this stuff.

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And then I came to Russia,

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and it was like, cheese was white 
and didn't taste like anything.

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Tastes like plastic.

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So, what made you decide to start
making your own cheese?

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You know, one thing you learn in Russia,
the winters are rough.

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The Russians prepare for winter

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so, being prepared means, 
also eating good stuff.

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(Alec) <i>For years, Russia imported 
as much cheese as it produced</i>

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<i>until 2014.</i>

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<i>Russia annexed Crimea,</i>

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<i>the US and the EU slap sanctions on Russia,</i>

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<i>and President Putin responded by
banning food imports from those countries.</i>

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<i>Cheesemakers like Klouz 
saw sales go way up.</i>

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<i>Russian production
increased by at least 50%.</i>

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- (Klouz) Please don't forget to return my spoon.
- (Sofia) Yes, return the spoon. Thanks.

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After Russia stopped purchasing
cheeses abroad,

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the cheese market changed a lot.

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So we started buying here.

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We are very satisfied
with the price and quality.

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(Alec) And how have the current sanctions
changed the industry?

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(Klouz) With the sanctions there's 
more interest in the people making cheese.

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Like, "Oh, we don't need you, 
we have Jay."

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I'm like, yeah, right. Fifty kilos a day,
how am I going to feed Russians?

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"Jay will save us!", I'm like, what?
(laughter)

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People are funny here.

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(Alec) <i>But some people are more confident
in local producers ability</i>

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<i>to fill the giant cheesy hole
left by the counter sanctions.</i>

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<i>Klrill Sharshukov imported Italian cheese</i>

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<i>until the food embargo forced him
to start making his own.</i>

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(Sharshuko) Here we have Caciocavallo cheese.

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A classic Italian Caciocavallo cheese.

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It is fermented for about 6 to 12 months

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and has a specific, light taste.

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And here we added fenugreek seeds.

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Tastes like cheese with with walnut,
kind of sweet dessert-y crunch.

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It doesn't have nuts?

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No, no. This doesn't have any nuts,
but is has that flavor.

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I don't know if this is allowed on TV,

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but these seeds are
healthy for men, apparently.

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So this is delicious and healthy for me?
(laughter)

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(Alec) <i>After the embargo,</i>

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<i>the government started giving
out subsidies and tax breaks</i>

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<i>to boost domestic production.</i>

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<i>Something Sharshuko believes</i>

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<i>is giving Russians a chance to catch up
to the world's cheesemakers.</i>

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(Sharshuko) The longer this goes on,
the more experiences we have.

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We reproduce Italy's cheeses here,

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replace its classic cheeses,
and produce them.

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So it would be very difficult to return.

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<i>But the Russian cheese revolution 
isn't for everybody.</i>

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<i>Imported foods were always
too expensive for most Russians.</i>

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<i>Meaning locally-made burrata will probably</i>
<i>never be on their shopping list.</i>

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<i>And economists are skeptical</i>

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<i>that the people 
who could afford fancy cheese</i>

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<i>are going to see local versions as anything
other than a secondary substitute.</i>

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When we imported cheese, it had quality.

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We, the small portion of affluent people,
got used to it.

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When that cheese disappeared,

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those people stopped buying
Russian copies of cheese

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because they don't trust the quality.

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Well, I hear from the cheese producers--

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Russian cheese producers--

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who say sanctions have been a huge help.

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Those you spoke to are very few
because, as a matter of fact,

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90% of the Russian cheese market

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is mass market cheeses.

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I wanted to ask what will happen

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to Russian cheesemakers
if sanctions are lifted tomorrow?

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There will be
competition again for 15 to 20%

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of wealthy people in Russia.

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People who have invested
in cheese production

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will be hit hard.

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(Alec) <i>The drive for food Independence
has protected Russia</i>

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<i>from supply disruptions during 
the pandemic, the government says.</i>

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<i>It's also helped a fledgling,
farm-to-table movement here.</i>

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- Five more minutes.
- No, two and a half.

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(Alec) <i>Ivan and Sergey Berezutskly have
their own farm to produce ingredients</i>

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<i>for their restaurant,</i>

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<i>which in 2019 was named 
one of the best in the world.</i>

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It's a simple dish: potato with caviar.

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Here you are.

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The majority of our guests
need healthy and fresh food.

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This is a development Russia
and other countries have come to.

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The sanctions have
accelerated the process.