WEBVTT 00:00:01.550 --> 00:00:02.034 Foodie culture is obsessed with authenticity. 00:00:04.656 --> 00:00:06.738 But when we get Moroccan honey, 00:00:06.738 --> 00:00:08.360 San Marzano tomatoes, 00:00:08.360 --> 00:00:11.152 that means shipping food, carbon emissions, 00:00:11.152 --> 00:00:14.089 plenty of waste and excess packaging 00:00:14.089 --> 00:00:17.639 for food that, sometimes, not even as fresh or delicious. 00:00:17.639 --> 00:00:21.100 Adding COVID-19, and you have a whole new problem. 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.188 Frozen supply chains or closed borders. 00:00:24.188 --> 00:00:28.085 That's changing how we eat and forcing us to also look what's local. 00:00:28.085 --> 00:00:32.170 Some countries like Russia have a lot of experience with this. 00:00:32.455 --> 00:00:34.748 MADE IN RUSSIA 00:00:36.175 --> 00:00:39.191 (Alec) Jay Klouz has been a nightclub promoter in Spain, 00:00:39.191 --> 00:00:43.774 a tour boat owner in France, and a celebrity chef in Australia. 00:00:43.774 --> 00:00:49.054 Now, the American lives in Russia where he's added cheesemaker to the list. 00:00:49.054 --> 00:00:54.050 (Jay) Every person has a different hand and this hand makes cheese. 00:00:54.050 --> 00:00:57.083 You could be more aggressive and you'll have another cheese. 00:00:57.083 --> 00:00:59.567 You could be more careful and you'll have another cheese. 00:00:59.567 --> 00:01:04.166 You can even go half a degree higher and you'll have another cheese. 00:01:04.166 --> 00:01:07.392 (Alec) Klouz uses local ingredients to make European favorites, 00:01:07.392 --> 00:01:09.718 like feta, gouda, and ricotta. 00:01:09.718 --> 00:01:13.805 Flavors that began to make their way here after the fall of the Soviet Union. 00:01:16.366 --> 00:01:20.256 (Alec) So, I grew up in Wisconsin, and we always had, you know, 00:01:20.256 --> 00:01:26.190 we had cheddar, pepper jack, all sorts of, you know, real sharp cheeses. 00:01:26.190 --> 00:01:27.108 Love this stuff. 00:01:27.108 --> 00:01:28.771 And then I came to Russia, 00:01:28.771 --> 00:01:31.975 and it was like, cheese was white and didn't taste like anything. 00:01:31.975 --> 00:01:34.208 Tastes like plastic. 00:01:34.208 --> 00:01:37.304 So, what made you decide to start making your own cheese? 00:01:37.304 --> 00:01:40.126 You know, one thing you learn in Russia, the winters are rough. 00:01:40.126 --> 00:01:42.190 The Russians prepare for winter 00:01:42.190 --> 00:01:45.972 so, being prepared means, also eating good stuff. 00:01:48.570 --> 00:01:51.809 (Alec) For years, Russia imported as much cheese as it produced 00:01:51.809 --> 00:01:54.887 until 2014. 00:01:54.887 --> 00:01:58.206 Russia annexed Crimea, 00:01:58.206 --> 00:02:01.842 the US and the EU slap sanctions on Russia, 00:02:01.842 --> 00:02:05.827 and President Putin responded by banning food imports from those countries. 00:02:07.451 --> 00:02:10.965 Cheesemakers like Klouz saw sales go way up. 00:02:10.965 --> 00:02:13.901 Russian production increased by at least 50%. 00:02:14.641 --> 00:02:17.798 line:1 - (Klouz) Please don't forget to return my spoon. - (Sofia) Yes, return the spoon. Thanks. 00:02:19.249 --> 00:02:24.991 line:1 After Russia stopped purchasing cheeses abroad, 00:02:24.991 --> 00:02:28.943 line:1 the cheese market changed a lot. 00:02:28.943 --> 00:02:31.157 line:1 So we started buying here. 00:02:31.157 --> 00:02:35.204 line:1 We are very satisfied with the price and quality. 00:02:36.906 --> 00:02:39.921 (Alec) And how have the current sanctions changed the industry? 00:02:39.921 --> 00:02:43.817 (Klouz) With the sanctions there's more interest in the people making cheese. 00:02:43.817 --> 00:02:45.820 Like, "Oh, we don't need you, we have Jay." 00:02:46.142 --> 00:02:47.271 I'm like, "Yeah, right." 00:02:47.271 --> 00:02:49.523 Fifty kilos a day, how am I going to feed Russians? 00:02:51.149 --> 00:02:54.469 "Jay will save us!", and I'm like, "What?" (laughter) 00:02:55.386 --> 00:02:56.738 People are funny here. 00:02:59.408 --> 00:03:02.789 (Alec) But some people are more confident in local producers ability 00:03:02.789 --> 00:03:06.287 to fill the giant cheesy hole left by the counter sanctions. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Klrill Sharshukov imported Italian cheese 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 until the food embargo forced him to start making his own. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 (Sharshuko) Here we have Caciocavallo cheese. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 A classic Italian Caciocavallo cheese. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 It is fermented for about 6 to 12 months 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 and has a specific, light taste. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 And here we added fenugreek seeds. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Tastes like cheese with with walnut, kind of sweet dessert-y crunch. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 It doesn't have nuts? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 No, no. This doesn't have any nuts, but is has that flavor. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 I don't know if this is allowed on TV, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 but these seeds are healthy for men, apparently. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 So this is delicious and healthy for me? (laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Alec) After the embargo, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the government started giving out subsidies and tax breaks 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to boost domestic production. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Something Sharshuko believes 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is giving Russians a chance to catch up to the world's cheesemakers. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 (Sharshuko) The longer this goes on, the more experiences we have. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 We reproduce Italy's cheeses here, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 replace its classic cheeses, and produce them. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 So it would be very difficult to return. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But the Russian cheese revolution isn't for everybody. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Imported foods were always too expensive for most Russians. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Meaning locally-made burrata will probably never be on their shopping list. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And economists are skeptical 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that the people who could afford fancy cheese 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are going to see local versions as anything other than a secondary substitute. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 When we imported cheese, it had quality. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 We, the small portion of affluent people, got used to it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 When that cheese disappeared, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 those people stopped buying Russian copies of cheese 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 because they don't trust the quality. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 Well, I hear from the cheese producers-- 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 Russian cheese producers-- 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 who say sanctions have been a huge help. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 Those you spoke to are very few because, as a matter of fact, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 90% of the Russian cheese market 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 is mass market cheeses. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 I wanted to ask what will happen 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 to Russian cheesemakers if sanctions are lifted tomorrow? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 There will be competition again for 15 to 20% 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 of wealthy people in Russia. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 People who have invested in cheese production 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 will be hit hard. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Alec) The drive for food Independence has protected Russia 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 from supply disruptions during the pandemic, the government says. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's also helped a fledgling, farm-to-table movement here. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 - Five more minutes. - No, two and a half. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 (Alec) Ivan and Sergey Berezutskly have their own farm to produce ingredients 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for their restaurant, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 which in 2019 was named one of the best in the world. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 It's a simple dish: potato with caviar. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 Here you are. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 The majority of our guests need healthy and fresh food. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 This is a development Russia and other countries have come to. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 line:1 The sanctions have accelerated the process.