I started learning cheese-making from this great lady Namrata Sundaresan, who has her own artisanal cheese brand called Käse in Chennai.
She is a phenomenal teacher, one of the best teachers that I have come across in my lifetime. I look forward to learning from her even today. I’ve been learning since the last year and a half, and she continues to teach me, to handhold me.
She has always been a mentor, but over time, she’s also become a great friend because it’s such a niche and nascent industry, there aren’t many people you can reach out to for solving problems.
And you face a lot of problems when you’re making cheeses. It’s difficult. You won’t find answers on the internet, so you need people who have been on that journey, who know what they’re doing.
Namrata is one person who’s always there to help you out, handhold you when required.
The next person I learnt from is Sohrab Chinoy of ABC Farms. He is one of the pioneers of artisanal cheese making in India. With the years of experience behind him, he had so much knowledge to impart, not only in terms of cheese-making, but life in general.
It was so good learning from him, interacting with him. He always had these little anecdotes he shared from time to time.
Cheese-making is a slow process. It involves a lot of waiting. So, you have to have that rapport with your mentor so that you can strike a conversation with each other during those long hours. I was very lucky to have found mentors who I built a great rapport with.
Source: Barandbench
