Monforte
Dairy
A couple of weeks ago I had this wonderful opportunity
to visit Monforte Dairy with my class. I like to think we were one lucky class
because we got to go into a slow food cheese production plant. We had to go in
small groups and got to make a very simple cheese from buffalo milk. I know
what you’re thinking and don’t worry, 15 kids making cheese and they’re going
to see it? No, we purchased the milk and it will be going back to George Brown
to be given to us in our last week hopefully when its ready. Throughout my time
at the Dairy, we were told over and over and over how bad it was to have us in
the production area. Yet, at the same
time, they were so excited that they got to share their story with us and show
us how amazing they are at making cheese.
Monforte Dairy currently only uses buffalo milk
because that is all she can get that is GMO free and follows under the slow food law.
She used to have a Dairy farmer out in my home town and a few shepherd in the
area as well. Her shepherds and dairy farmers where bought out. So for a long
time she had a hard time getting milk and you need milk to make cheese. Her buffalo
milk comes from these young Mennonites that work really hard to get her fresh
milk. Every day the Mennonites go out and milk the
buffalos by hand. By the time the milk
gets to the facility it is 8 days old, once it is received it is processed
right away and turned into a bunch of different cheeses.
I
have had the opportunity to try all of her cheeses in a full cheese tasting for
the distillery. One of my favorite cheese is Ruth’s water buffalo Halloumi, she
also makes it from goats’ milk as well and both are equally delicious. This cheese
is a semi-hard unrippend brined cheese; this chees is set with rennet. Halloumi
is white in colour with a distinctive layered texture, it has a salty flavour
and stored in its natural juices. This cheese
is great for frying in a fryer or pan-searing it and getting a nice golden brown
colour. This cheese is wonderful by itself with a bit of salt or with a nice
chutney and bread. I recommend heading out to Ruth’s place ASAP and get yourself
some!
I really enjoyed seeing and walking
through the plant but I’ll be honest with you, I stepped out to talk to Ruth
while the rest of the class was making cheese. Talking with Ruth was incredible,
she is a very interesting girl who has so much love for what she does and I was
impressed by how much love and passion she has for her cheese. I also learned that Ruth has had one rough
ride to get ware she is now, but I’m not going to get into too much about that.
Before I could
even open my mouth she was apologizing for her generation for F****** up the
world for our generation. She was explaining to me how greedy they were and how
they wanted everything. She was telling
us that we could have whatever we wanted, but the honest truth is that we can’t,
we need to start making changes and changes fast. It was a really deep conversation
to have but it was great to understand more. I wanted to talk with Ruth about getting her product
into the new restaurant I will be helping to open. We talk about how to use
local and why it’s good to help our small farmers grow and why it worth paying
a bit more for something that may not be as good right off the hop, these
farmers need money to grow bigger and better and we need to support them all
the way and if we do we will get the best product out of them. Ruth’s wisdom was very incredible and really
help me get a good idea of what to look for and who I could use and get in
contact with.
After my morning at the dairy plant,
we went over to work on a big communal meal for our class and a few different teachers
and past students. Monforte Dairy also has a restaurant on the main strip in Stratford.
This place is one of a kind. Right from when
you walk in you are mind-blown, the bar and tables are made out of old skids. The kitchen
was fun to work in, there is nothing special about it as it just has that home
feeling when you walk in. Their plates are all different kinds, kind of
like what you would see in your moms’ cupboards at home. Everything there is recycled,
it was great! At the end our two groups
came together and cooked this wonderful meal for all of the staff and the best
part was just seeing everyone around a table eating a good home cooked meal. This
was a great experience and I can’t wait to go back and just hang out, get a
nice bite to eat from there incredible chef and eat some amazing cheese.
This is me cutting some homemade cured duck and some Monforte cheese in the background. #itbetasty
Cheers
Matthew Metcalfe
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