From Ukraine to Japan. Cheese shop

How I started witch cheese

My parents' house in Ukraine was a long-established store that has been producing cheese in the area for generations.

Cheese is made at home and sold at local markets.

I was fascinated by the cheese-making process and began to research myself, increasing the number of cheeses I could make to 32. My family used to keep cows and goats for cheese and other milk products.

But there is some specific type of cheese which known only in my city area. During war my city Izuum (Kharkiv reg) was fully destroyed. So i thing there is no anymore people, who could produce this cheese anymore.

In Ukraine, people are all making some kind of food, bartering and getting all the ingredients in the local market.

The open-air market where local vegetables, meat, seeds and processed products are lined up is very rich and I loved it.

Difficulties faced in Japan

When I came to Japan, I was looking forward to seeing similar open-air events every day in the area and selling a lot of traditional ingredients.

However, the area of Japan is only supermarkets, and consumers have no direct contact with producers.

Cheese is made from unheated milk.

There are various types of milk as a raw material, and various types of milk are required, such as milk with a high fat content in newborn cows and milk that is even thicker when the calf is larger.

I thought I could buy the raw milk directly from the dairy farmers, so I explored the local dairy farms.

However, I was told that the law was so strict that I couldn't sell it directly.

I learned that in Japan, all simple things require qualifications, and the common people can only buy processed finished products, not materials.

Many of the cheeses I see at supermarkets are not praised as good products in many respects and are very expensive.

Cheese-like products with artificial seasonings and chemical preservatives, products that claim to be natural but do not use natural enzymes, products that, from my point of view, have skipped a number of important processes, and cheese that has been over-sterilized. Things that don't taste. .. .. There aren't many varieties, and it's not as tasty as the cheese I've eaten.

I even wanted to offer authentic cheese to the Japanese people at a reasonable price.

Therefore, when I investigated the hygiene management items required for the business license, I found that the materials, finished products, cooking room, and cooking utensils were stored in separate rooms, and that there was a 1M waterproof treatment on the floor. It turned out that there are many standards required for equipment such as being a kitchen.

Something different

To start a business in dairy processing in Japan

There are capital hurdles, but

I feel that the financial hurdles for starting a business are still high because I lost all my homes and businesses in my home country in the war.

At the same time, I feel responsible.

My hometown, Ijum, has become a fierce battlefield and I haven't been able to contact my parents. The villagers were almost wiped out, and it became a pile of rubble that could not be reconstructed. I may be the only one who can survive and continue manufacturing activities as a successor to the cheese manufacturing technology of my hometown.

Even if I lose my land

I want you to remain in the culture of the country of Ukraine. And food culture is also part of the culture.

I want you to experience the fact that "Ukraine has a tradition of making such delicious cheese."

It ’s in me as a person who has been chased from my hometown.

I want to protect my cultural identity and what I am proud of.

And overcoming the consciousness of being a victim,

I want to draw a modest success with the power of taste.