Even a few years ago, it would have been hard to come by a Mumbaiite who could tell their Camembert from their Brie, let alone demand artisanal varieties. But things have changed and how! Early last year, South Mumbai’s Karl Kothavala and Mansi Jasani set the cheese wheels in motion. While Kothavala has been perfecting the art of making mascarpone, feta and other varieties, Jasani — fresh off the boat from a cheese-making internship in New York — has carved a niche for herself by serving chèvre or goat cheese.
In November last year, Juhu-based Dhvani Desai gave the city its first taste of fresh made-in-Mumbai cheeses when she began retailing at the farmers’ market. She now has company in Mausam Jotwani, who has started making small batches of organic Fromage Blanc and Goat Feta. But it is the Dahisar-based Mehra brothers who have taken the biggest risk and are likely to make the most significant change in Mumbai’s cheese habits.
The Mehras’ spotlessly clean basement smells strongly of ammonia. It’s the odour of ripening cheese from the ‘cave-like’ temperature-controlled room. That is where their precious cheese wheels are salted, flipped, checked for infections and aged. But it is out of bounds for visitors. “It is a highly sanitised environment and we cannot risk contamination. One little mistake and we could lose our entire batch,” explains food photographer Prateeksh, who recently turned cheesemaker along with his brother Agnay.
The self-taught cheese makers are the city’s only affineurs, ageing their 100 per cent vegetarian made-from-organic-milk Camembert and Brie (or Camambay and Bombrie, as they call them) for a minimum of two and a half to three weeks before they are ready to be retailed. I sample their cheeses — the pungent Camambay and the wonderfully buttery slightly sour Bombrie — at various stages of the ageing process. “See how much more earthy, mushroomy, and pungent the more mature camembert is at four weeks, rather than its milder form at two weeks,” says Prateeksh, adding that the cheese is “alive” as its ripening and ageing process is a continuous one. While the weather, the quality of milk, and other factors make it impossible to replicate the French varieties to the tee, their cheeses come pretty close.
“We were wary about the reaction. The varieties definitely require some palate-training. Although the ex-pat community was an easy win — as they were thrilled to find locally produced cheese they’re familiar with — we were pleasantly surprised to find youngsters in Mumbai aware and enthusiastic about our cheeses too,” says Prateeksh,
Prateesh’s experiment with cheesemaking began as a means to creating an accompaniment with the beer he was brewing in the basement. “I wanted to pair my beer with good, locally-made cheese and found no options. So I tried my hand at making them.” The result was so good that he decided to drop the beer and roped in his brother Agnay to help with the cheese. “Now it is impossible for us to work on our own. It is a taxing job and needs our wholehearted dedication. It’s fun only because we’re passionate about cheesemaking and we have each other for company,” says Agnay.
Mansi Jasani shares the Mehras’ passion for cheesemaking. “My earliest memories are of swinging in a park near home eating string cheese, and stealing wedges and slices in the middle of the night from the fridge,” says Jasani. The obsession grew as she travelled. At 13 she had her first taste of blue cheese. Strangely, though, it was only after she worked as a wealth manager and a publicist that she finally realised her true calling as a cheesemaker.
In July 2012, after taking a beginner’s course at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese and an internship at Murray’s Cheese in New York, she returned to Mumbai to begin experimenting on her first batch of cheese. “It had to be goat cheese,” she says, “No one was making it in Mumbai back then and, as far as I know, I’m still the only one making chevre in the city.”
Jasani, who doesn’t trust the milkmen in the city, uses Nannies Goat Milk shipped all the way from Karnataka. She tells us her fresh cheeses are wonderful on toast or crackers, but one taste of the tangy velvety cheese tells you it can be easily relished it on its own. Her fruit chevre, with bits of seasonal fruits and cranberries in it, is meant to be a dessert cheese best served with some shortbread cookies but can also be enjoyed at breakfast, maybe with a croissant. It takes her about a week to prepare a batch of fresh cheese, which she currently makes from her kitchen at home. “I am hoping to set up a central kitchen in Lonavla, where I might even be able to age the cheese a bit more,” she reveals. Jasani’s The Cheese Collective (TCC) is about more than just cheese. “The idea behind TCC is to make and also curate artisan cheese and educate and sell cheese and ideas and items that go with it,” she says.
“It feels strange to be on the other side of the line of questioning,” laughs former journalist Dhvani Desai. What began as a hobby for the foodie about four years ago became a full-fledged business last year when she launched her brand of organic cheeses at Kavita Mukhi’s farmers’ market in Bandra. “Back then, I was retailing five different types of cheese including a dessert lemon-orange flavoured cheese,” explains the fromagère, who also manned a café at the market, through which she informed customers about the various ways in which her cheeses could be used. According to Desai, hard cheeses — thanks to their longer shelf-life — are easier to find in the markets. “There’s a greater void as far as fresh cheeses are concerned, and that is why I plan to sticking to making these, at least for the moment,” she says.
Desai, who attended a quick cheesemaking course in Coonoor, found mentors in a couple of European cheesemakers travelling to the country last year. “They warned me against attempting to replicate any particular cheeses, explaining that it is near impossible to produce the exact variety. So I decided to come up with my own names for the cheeses I create.” Her mild Morning Mist, spreadable like cream cheese or chevre, the slightly firmer and stronger Emerald Snowcake and crumbly Iceberg Feta have already gained quite a reputation.
Desai currently works out of her home and her garage, “It is absolutely essential to have a temperature-controlled environment to make cheese. Perhaps it is Mumbai’s unpredictable climate that has stopped more people from making their own,” she says. But that’s not the only reason. Making cheese is a science and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. “It isn’t like making your own chocolates, where you can melt store-bought chocolate and add some stuff.”
