1 00:00:01,550 --> 00:00:02,034 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 --> 00:00:11,152 that means shipping food, carbon emissions, 5 00:00:11,152 --> 00:00:14,089 plenty of waste and excess packaging 6 00:00:14,089 --> 00:00:17,639 for food that, sometimes, not even as fresh or delicious. 7 00:00:17,639 --> 00:00:21,100 Adding COVID-19, and you have a whole new problem. 8 00:00:21,100 --> 00:00:24,188 Frozen supply chains or closed borders. 9 00:00:24,188 --> 00:00:28,085 That's changing how we eat and forcing us to also look what's local. 10 00:00:28,085 --> 00:00:32,170 Some countries like Russia have a lot of experience with this. 11 00:00:32,455 --> 00:00:34,748 MADE IN RUSSIA 12 00:00:36,175 --> 00:00:39,191 (Alec) Jay Klouz has been a nightclub promoter in Spain, 13 00:00:39,191 --> 00:00:43,774 a tour boat owner in France, and a celebrity chef in Australia. 14 00:00:43,774 --> 00:00:49,054 Now, the American lives in Russia where he's added cheesemaker to the list. 15 00:00:49,054 --> 00:00:54,050 (Jay) Every person has a different hand and this hand makes cheese. 16 00:00:54,050 --> 00:00:57,083 You could be more aggressive and you'll have another cheese. 17 00:00:57,083 --> 00:00:59,567 You could be more careful and you'll have another cheese. 18 00:00:59,567 --> 00:01:04,166 You can even go half a degree higher and you'll have another cheese. 19 00:01:04,166 --> 00:01:07,392 (Alec) Klouz uses local ingredients to make European favorites, 20 00:01:07,392 --> 00:01:09,718 like feta, gouda, and ricotta. 21 00:01:09,718 --> 00:01:13,805 Flavors that began to make their way here after the fall of the Soviet Union. 22 00:01:16,366 --> 00:01:20,256 (Alec) So, I grew up in Wisconsin, and we always had, you know, 23 00:01:20,256 --> 00:01:26,190 we had cheddar, pepper jack, all sorts of, you know, real sharp cheeses. 24 00:01:26,190 --> 00:01:27,108 Love this stuff. 25 00:01:27,108 --> 00:01:28,771 And then I came to Russia, 26 00:01:28,771 --> 00:01:31,975 and it was like, cheese was white and didn't taste like anything. 27 00:01:31,975 --> 00:01:34,208 Tastes like plastic. 28 00:01:34,208 --> 00:01:37,304 So, what made you decide to start making your own cheese? 29 00:01:37,304 --> 00:01:40,126 You know, one thing you learn in Russia, the winters are rough. 30 00:01:40,126 --> 00:01:42,190 The Russians prepare for winter 31 00:01:42,190 --> 00:01:45,972 so, being prepared means, also eating good stuff. 32 00:01:48,570 --> 00:01:51,809 (Alec) For years, Russia imported as much cheese as it produced 33 00:01:51,809 --> 00:01:54,887 until 2014. 34 00:01:54,887 --> 00:01:58,206 Russia annexed Crimea, 35 00:01:58,206 --> 00:02:01,842 the US and the EU slap sanctions on Russia, 36 00:02:01,842 --> 00:02:05,827 and President Putin responded by banning food imports from those countries. 37 00:02:07,451 --> 00:02:10,965 Cheesemakers like Klouz saw sales go way up. 38 00:02:10,965 --> 00:02:13,901 Russian production increased by at least 50%. 39 00:02:14,641 --> 00:02:17,798 - (Klouz) Please don't forget to return my spoon. - (Sofia) Yes, return the spoon. Thanks. 40 00:02:19,249 --> 00:02:24,991 After Russia stopped purchasing cheeses abroad, 41 00:02:24,991 --> 00:02:28,943 the cheese market changed a lot. 42 00:02:28,943 --> 00:02:31,157 So we started buying here. 43 00:02:31,157 --> 00:02:35,204 We are very satisfied with the price and quality. 44 00:02:36,906 --> 00:02:39,921 (Alec) And how have the current sanctions changed the industry? 45 00:02:39,921 --> 00:02:43,817 (Klouz) With the sanctions there's more interest in the people making cheese. 46 00:02:43,817 --> 00:02:45,820 Like, "Oh, we don't need you, we have Jay." 47 00:02:46,142 --> 00:02:47,271 I'm like, "Yeah, right." 48 00:02:47,271 --> 00:02:49,523 Fifty kilos a day, how am I going to feed Russians? 49 00:02:51,149 --> 00:02:54,469 "Jay will save us!", and I'm like, "What?" (laughter) 50 00:02:55,386 --> 00:02:56,738 People are funny here. 51 00:02:59,408 --> 00:03:02,789 (Alec) But some people are more confident in local producers ability 52 00:03:02,789 --> 00:03:06,287 to fill the giant cheesy hole left by the counter sanctions. 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Klrill Sharshukov imported Italian cheese 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 until the food embargo forced him to start making his own. 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Sharshuko) Here we have Caciocavallo cheese. 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A classic Italian Caciocavallo cheese. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is fermented for about 6 to 12 months 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and has a specific, light taste. 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And here we added fenugreek seeds. 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tastes like cheese with with walnut, kind of sweet dessert-y crunch. 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It doesn't have nuts? 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 No, no. This doesn't have any nuts, but is has that flavor. 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I don't know if this is allowed on TV, 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but these seeds are healthy for men, apparently. 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this is delicious and healthy for me? (laughter) 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Alec) After the embargo, 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the government started giving out subsidies and tax breaks 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to boost domestic production. 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Something Sharshuko believes 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is giving Russians a chance to catch up to the world's cheesemakers. 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Sharshuko) The longer this goes on, the more experiences we have. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We reproduce Italy's cheeses here, 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 replace its classic cheeses, and produce them. 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So it would be very difficult to return. 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the Russian cheese revolution isn't for everybody. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Imported foods were always too expensive for most Russians. 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Meaning locally-made burrata will probably never be on their shopping list. 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And economists are skeptical 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the people who could afford fancy cheese 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are going to see local versions as anything other than a secondary substitute. 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When we imported cheese, it had quality. 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We, the small portion of affluent people, got used to it. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When that cheese disappeared, 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 those people stopped buying Russian copies of cheese 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because they don't trust the quality. 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well, I hear from the cheese producers-- 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Russian cheese producers-- 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who say sanctions have been a huge help. 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those you spoke to are very few because, as a matter of fact, 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 90% of the Russian cheese market 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is mass market cheeses. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I wanted to ask what will happen 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to Russian cheesemakers if sanctions are lifted tomorrow? 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There will be competition again for 15 to 20% 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of wealthy people in Russia. 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 People who have invested in cheese production 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 will be hit hard. 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Alec) The drive for food Independence has protected Russia 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from supply disruptions during the pandemic, the government says. 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's also helped a fledgling, farm-to-table movement here. 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - Five more minutes. - No, two and a half. 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Alec) Ivan and Sergey Berezutskly have their own farm to produce ingredients 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for their restaurant, 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which in 2019 was named one of the best in the world. 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's a simple dish: potato with caviar. 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here you are. 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The majority of our guests need healthy and fresh food. 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is a development Russia and other countries have come to. 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The sanctions have accelerated the process.