11 minute read
Whey to go
Gundaling Farmstead Berastagi
From Sumatra to Bali, Eve Tedja uncovers a thriving artisan cheesemaking scene in Indonesia and talks to chefs who champion locally made cheese at their restaurants.
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As a popular weekend destination, Berastagi offers a picturesque escape, just 66 kilometers south of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. Located 1,300 metres above sea level, it is refreshingly chilly. Two volcanoes, Mount Sibayak and Mount Sinabung, which constitute Indonesia’s longest mountain range Bukit Barisan, loom over Berastagi. Its soil is rich, allowing farming and agriculture to flourish. Black and white Holstein Friesian cows graze on its green pastures, especially on the ground that belongs to Gundaling Farmstead Berastagi.
Founded in 2005, the farmstead started humbly with just 20 cows which were purposefully raised to yield fertiliser. Milk was just the secondary product. However, the cows proved to be more beneficial as milk producers and the farm decided to focus on producing high quality milk and yoghurt. “The turning point was in 2014. Fresh milk and yoghurt started to get more popular and suddenly there was a demand for both products. Our presence became known to the public and we received visitors from all over Indonesia who wanted to see our farm and buy fresh milk and yoghurt. We became a destination in Berastagi,” explains Andreas Kangga Lee, co-founder of Gundaling Farmstead Berastagi. Now, as the owner of 100 dairy cattle, (which are able to produce more than 2,000 litres of fresh milk daily) Lee provides employment for 60 staff. In 2017 he decided to venture into cheesemaking.
After a course with Mazaraat Cheese, Lee started to produce a line of French and Italian cheese. At its dedicated ageing room, stacks of Provolone and Tomme wheels are maturing, while the curvaceous Caciocavallo hangs over them. He has created his own signature, the Tomme Andaliman, which infuses the semi-soft cheese with local’s tongue numbing, citrus-y pepper. “This year, we aim to expand our cheese production range, build a restaurant to showcase our farm-to-table products and hopefully, go regional since there is a huge demand in Southeast Asia for high quality artisanal cheese products,” says the Berastagi-native entrepreneur.
Lee is not alone in believing that there is a huge potential of high quality cheese products in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Despite the fact that cheese is not a staple in Indonesian households, it has gained popularity among the country’s burgeoning middle class whose palates have become attuned to western cuisine. According
GUNDALING FARMSTEAD BERASTAGI, ROSALIE CHEESE AND MAZARAAT CHEESE PHOTOS
Craftsmanship and unique flavour profiles are what make Rosalie Cheese's goat cheese products tick.
Each Gundaling Farmstead Berastagi cow can produce up to 20 litres of fresh milk a day.
to Statista, a market data provider, Indonesia’s cheese market is expected to grow by 8.5 percent in the next three years. In a country with a population of 265 million people, Indonesians' buying power is not one to be taken lightly. At the moment, Bali absorbs most of the artisanal cheese products in Indonesia. However, demand for natural and unprocessed cheese is also coming from Jakarta’s gourmet and hospitality market.
The history of Indonesia’s cheesemaking can be traced back to its diverse indigenous food culture. According to Jamie Najmi of Mazaraat Cheese in Yogyakarta, the art of cheesemaking has been known in Sumatra and Sulawesi. “There’s Dadih, traditional soft cheese from buffalo milk in West Sumatra. In North Sumatra, we have Dali Ni Horbo, a clabbering ricotta-like cheese made with pineapple or papaya leaf juice. We even have our own halloumi, Dangke, from Enrekang, South Sulawesi,” says Najmi. This selftaught artisan cheesemaker grew up eating Dadih in his hometown, Padang and it sparked his interest to pursue cheesemaking in Canada and New Zealand. When he returned to Yogyakarta in 2015, he started Mazaraat Cheese with an intention to create cheese from organically raised cows. He worked closely with an organic dairy cattle farm near Mount Merapi and receives a daily fresh milk supply of 300 litres. The limited quantity of milk prevents him to expand the production but allows him to pursue his passion in sharing, consulting and experimenting with cheese. “By creating natural, unprocessed cheese from fresh milk, we empower local farmers and strengthen our food security. The definition of high quality cheese is the one that is made not more than 30 kilometres from its milk source and has never been frozen in its delivery. Indonesia still has a lot to catch up in regards to the quality of the milk and the process but we are getting there. With a dedication to quality, I dare say our locally produced cheese will be able to compete with imported products from Europe,” declares Najmi who produces halloumi, mozzarella, ghee and aged French cheeses such as Camembert, Tomme Merapi, blue cheese, and Brillat-Savarin.
As the awareness of prioritising locally made products increases, so too the demand for high quality natural cheese. At the moment, Indonesia already has more than 10 commercial cheesemakers. Most of them are based in Java and Bali, with each artisan creating different styles of cheese. The market potential even brought foreign investors to build their cheesemaking enterprises, such as the case with Bali Alm and PT Gioia Cheese Indonesia. Trading also proves to be a lucrative venture, as proven by Rosalie Cheese who not only produces goat cheeses but curate local cheese products at its retail and online marketplace. Undoubtedly, this is only the exciting beginning of what is to come. Can we say cheese?
To brie or not to brie
A lot has changed since Christoph Kaffanke started Bali Alm in 2012. The Stuttgart-born ex-chef and engineer has expanded his cheese factory in Ungasan, and now produces 50 variants of French, Swiss and Italian cheeses on top of his bestselling fresh yoghurt, and has gone to two retail shops. At the moment, Bali Alm’s Raclette, Camembert or Tilsiter are supplied to several luxurious resorts in Bali and championed by the island’s top executive chefs.
One thing that doesn’t change over the years is Kaffanke’s insistence on the quality of his main ingredient: fresh milk. “We work with a dairy cattle farm in Malang, East Java. It is not possible to obtain a permit to open a dairy cattle farm with Holstein Friesian cows in Bali and we have no choice but to source our milk from Java. With the transportation risk, we also have no other option than having the milk pasteurised and homogenised in situ, prior to shipment in a refrigerator truck. That way, we minimise the risk of pathogen infection,” says Kaffanke who currently receives
Bali Alm's cheeses (clockwise from the top): Mountain Cheese, Fume Smoked Raclette, Ibores, Crottin de Chavignol, three milk deliveries per week. Rosemary Manchego, and St. Jeammie His culinary background plays Vacherin-style cheese. a great deal in his cheese creation and nothing excites him more than creating customised yoghurt or cheese products like the goat cream cheese, which he exclusively produced for an ice cream shop in Seminyak. Bali Alm supplies the island’s demand for locally produced natural artisan cheese. Lately, Kaffenke is drawn to the complexity of cheese ageing process. “I have a few wheels of German-style
Mountain cheese that are aged for six months. As soon as the new factory construction is completed, I will make a 50 kilogram statement cheese wheel for the pleasure of it. That’s what I love about cheesemaking. Even after all these years, I can always find a new way to make cheese,” says Kaffanke cheerfully.
Bali Alm
JJalan Bukit Bintang 18a, Ungasan, Kuta Selatan, Jimbaran, Bali Tel: +62 812 3790 3290 Web: bali-alm.com
IRA RODRIGUES PHOTOS
Grater plans ahead
Gioia Cheese's products (clockwise from the top): Saporito, platter of Smoked Scamorza, Tomi Black and a big wheel of Scamorza; Burrata, Caciotta, Mozzarella, Ricotta, and Bocconcini.
PT Gioia Cheese Indonesia
Jalan Muding Batu Sangian XI, Kerobokan Kaya, Kuta Utara, Bali Tel: +62 361 9074041 Web: gioiacheese.com
Ilios Maggi Andreadakis has it good. The ItalianGreek professional worked in the finance industry and spent his time jet-setting between Shanghai and Milan. However, his mother lives in Bali and he decided to move his family there while working remotely and taking care of the operations in Bangalore and Shanghai offices. Then, he came across an opportunity of investing in a cheese factory in Bali. “From my understanding and past experience in managing portfolios, food companies are not really affected by economic crisis. So, when I had the opportunity to invest in Gioia Cheese, I thought, why not?” says Andreadakis. Although he had the factory machinery, he had no expertise in cheesemaking. Andreadakis took over the company in 2016 and picked up a course in cheesemaking with Carlo Piccoli in the respected Academia Internazionale Dell’Arte Casearia, San Pietro di Felleto, Italy. An awardwinning master cheese maker, Piccoli is the fourth-generation cheesemaker from Perenzin Latteria, a cheesemaking company and institution established in 1898. Sourcing fresh milk from Malang and sea salt from Amed, Andreadakis managed to create a wide repertoire of flavours. Fresh cheeses or pasta filata such as mozzarella, bocconcini, “ We have a lot of support from Bali- stracciatella, burrata and halloumi are produced daily in Gioia Cheese’s factory in North Kuta. In the ageing room sits plump yellow based chefs, restaurants and hotels. wheels of the aged varieties such as Asiatico (Gioia Cheese’s own They are dedicated in sourcing locally Asiago), Scamorza, Saporito, Ricotta, and Andreadakis’s pride and made products and supporting local food producers. In turn, their efforts joy - the Drunken Cheese or Ubriaco. Made from locally produced red wine, the cheese is ready to be savoured in one month's time. “We have a lot of support from Bali-based chefs, restaurants inspired me to keep growing Gioia and hotels. They are dedicated in sourcing locally made products Cheese. In a couple of months, I will and supporting local food producers. In turn, their efforts inspired open Kilometer Zero in Canggu. It is a shop dedicated to locally made me to keep growing Gioia Cheese. In a couple of months, I will open Kilometer Zero in Canggu. It is a shop dedicated to locally made products, be it cheese, ham or beauty products. It will be products, be it cheese, ham or beauty proof that with a little bit of passion and work, we can make products. It will be proof that with a anything here,” says Andreadakis. little bit of passion and work, we can make anything here.” - Ilios Maggi Andreadakis
It gets feta
Goat cheese has a reputation of being pungent, but it boils down to how it is produced; goat cheese can be savoury, lightly sweet, nutty or mild. As Ayu Utami Linggih has learned over the years, goat cheese is still underrated but quietly garnering popularity as an alternative to cow milk cheese. It is suitable for those who are lactose intolerant and contains a good source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and probiotics.
Growing up in a household that loves cheese, Linggih decided to pursue her passion to study food science in Brisbane. “There, I learned the art of cheesemaking and decided that’s what I wanted to do. I went back to Indonesia to start my own cheesemaking business because I thought there’s a market demand and there’s an access to fresh milk,” says Linggih who started Rosalie Cheese in 2013. Naturally, nothing was easy. She had to customise most of the necessary equipment because cheesemaking equipment is alien to Indonesia and looked for a reliable goat farm, on top of producing, marketing and selling the products. Her biggest hurdle was to get the home industry license in Jakarta which was impossible. Luckily, Bali proves to be a safe haven and Linggih moved the production of her Chevre, Milton and even Cheesy Goat Grissini to Denpasar, Bali. It is also more convenient because she relies on receiving goat milk delivery from Malang, East Java.
Stamping its own style to the products by adding coconut ash and black pepper, Rosalie Cheese is also developing a line of aged goat cheese for the connoisseurs. Linggih ingeniously embraces both local and Bali’s market which mostly rely on tourism through retail, wholesale and online marketplace. “I have learned that it is not sustainable to just rely on one market and it is important to work as a collective with other local cheesemakers in Indonesia. On our website and in our Jakarta shop, we curate natural and locally made cheese from Malang, Yogyakarta, Boyolali, and Berastagi,” says Linggih who is currently in the midst of expanding her factory.
Rosalie Cheese
Jl. Benda Raya No. 8B1, Kemang, Jakarta Tel: +62 21 7814801 / +62 813 864 31031 Web: rosaliecheese.co.id
IRA RODRIGUES PHOTOS
Rosalie Cheese's products (clockwise from the top): Cheesy Goat Grissini, Chevre, Black Pepper, Black & White, and Milton.
