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Foodie culture is obsessed[br]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, [br]carbon emissions,
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plenty of waste and excess packaging
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for food that, sometimes, [br]not even as fresh or delicious.
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Adding COVID-19,[br]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[br]forcing us to also look what's local.
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Some countries like Russia [br]have a lot of experience with this.
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MADE IN RUSSIA
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(Alec) Jay Klouz has been[br]a nightclub promoter in Spain,
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a tour boat owner in France,[br]and a celebrity chef in Australia.
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Now, the American lives in Russia [br]where he's added cheesemaker to the list.
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(Jay) Every person has a different hand[br]and this hand makes cheese.
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You could be more aggressive[br]and you'll have another cheese.
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You could be more careful[br]and you'll have another cheese.
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You can even go half a degree higher[br]and you'll have another cheese.
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(Alec) Klouz uses local ingredients [br]to make European favorites,
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like feta, gouda, and ricotta.
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Flavors that began to make their way here [br]after the fall of the Soviet Union.
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(Alec) So, I grew up in Wisconsin, [br]and we always had, you know,
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we had cheddar, pepper jack, all sorts of,[br]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 [br]and didn't taste like anything.
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Tastes like plastic.
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So, what made you decide to start[br]making your own cheese?
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You know, one thing you learn in Russia,[br]the winters are rough.
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The Russians prepare for winter
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so, being prepared means, [br]also eating good stuff.
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(Alec) For years, Russia imported [br]as much cheese as it produced
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until 2014.
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Russia annexed Crimea,
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the US and the EU slap sanctions on Russia,
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and President Putin responded by[br]banning food imports from those countries.
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Cheesemakers like Klouz [br]saw sales go way up.
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Russian production[br]increased by at least 50%.
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- (Klouz) Please don't forget to return my spoon.[br]- (Sofia) Yes, return the spoon. Thanks.
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After Russia stopped purchasing[br]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[br]with the price and quality.
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(Alec) And how have the current sanctions[br]changed the industry?
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(Klouz) With the sanctions there's [br]more interest in the people making cheese.
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Like, "Oh, we don't need you, [br]we have Jay."
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I'm like, "Yeah, right."
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Fifty kilos a day,[br]how am I going to feed Russians?
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"Jay will save us!", and I'm like, "What?"[br](laughter)
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People are funny here.
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(Alec) But some people are more confident[br]in local producers ability
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to fill the giant cheesy hole[br]left by the counter sanctions.
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Klrill Sharshukov imported Italian cheese
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until the food embargo forced him[br]to start making his own.
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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,[br]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,[br]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[br]healthy for men, apparently.
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So this is delicious and healthy for me?[br](laughter)
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(Alec) After the embargo,
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the government started giving[br]out subsidies and tax breaks
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to boost domestic production.
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Something Sharshuko believes
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is giving Russians a chance to catch up[br]to the world's cheesemakers.
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(Sharshuko) The longer this goes on,[br]the more experiences we have.
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We reproduce Italy's cheeses here,
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replace its classic cheeses,[br]and produce them.
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So it would be very difficult to return.
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But the Russian cheese revolution [br]isn't for everybody.
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Imported foods were always[br]too expensive for most Russians.
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Meaning locally-made burrata will probably[br]never be on their shopping list.
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And economists are skeptical
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that the people [br]who could afford fancy cheese
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are going to see local versions as anything[br]other than a secondary substitute.
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When we imported cheese, it had quality.
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We, the small portion of affluent people,[br]got used to it.
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When that cheese disappeared,
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those people stopped buying[br]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[br]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[br]if sanctions are lifted tomorrow?
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There will be[br]competition again for 15 to 20%
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of wealthy people in Russia.
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People who have invested[br]in cheese production
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will be hit hard.
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(Alec) The drive for food Independence[br]has protected Russia
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from supply disruptions during [br]the pandemic, the government says.
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It's also helped a fledgling,[br]farm-to-table movement here.
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- Five more minutes.[br]- No, two and a half.
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(Alec) Ivan and Sergey Berezutskly have[br]their own farm to produce ingredients
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for their restaurant,
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which in 2019 was named [br]one of the best in the world.
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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[br]need healthy and fresh food.
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This is a development Russia[br]and other countries have come to.
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The sanctions have[br]accelerated the process.