French cheeses in Villa María region

Since 3 years ago Ricardo Rossa has been the attorney of this original undertaking. He talked about the human and economic cost of betting on a product with no precedent that promised unbelievable sources of work.

Things didn’t go well in Ricardo Rossa’s reign. He had been elaborating economic cheeses for 26 years but it was getting harder and harder to compete with great trademarks. “Quartirolo” and “bar” cheeses were barely enough to cover expenses, so he had begun elaborating mozzarella which was a more specific cheese and had not so many competitors. But orders from pizzerias chains also began to decrease. The ghost of old enterprise failures went back into his head as a crows flock.

“To get the situation better, a friend and I opened a factory of dulce de leche in Brazil, but we did not succeed. Finally, as it was not consumed by Brazilian people we came to elaborate some stuffing for Mexican candies, and we also prepared “little honeys” that in Brazil were used as change when there were no little coins”, Ricardo comments.”As long as I remember, I always had some problem with cheeses, even at times people do not imagine, as when the Austral plan began. It was then that we lost a lot of production due to taxes. I always thought that, apart from one’s dedication and commitment to work, luck is needed to succeed. And for some unfortunate reason, I never had.”

And Rossa’s face shows sincerity, anguish and hope. “Yes, because hope has never gone. I always thought that someday I would attain something good for people; otherwise, I cannot sleep. Because this was always the motto: quality, do something people appreciate. I was never interested in money at any cost. But…Do you believe in God? “he asks almost point-blank, and without letting me rough out an answer, he goes on. “Because I believe in God, and now more than ever. I feel we are doing well. Because everything we have been living since some months ago is God’s hand, this good luck that is finally touching us, these caresses to the soul. I had no work for over a year, and I did not know if I was about to bankrupt or to break myself down, it was a great stress. I got up at 6:00 a.m. every day and sat down in the armchair very nervous. “But what are you doing awake at this time?” asked my couple. “I feel that if I don’t get up I will lose my train”, I replied. And I did not know which train I was talking about, but I felt that way, as if I were waiting for a train. Karina never let me down. My couple is a woman that never lets up at hard times. That poor woman had to stand so many bitter experiences…” And Ricardo paused. He is a man that needs to explain and explain again a concept, perhaps because for him “clarity” is “an essential human item”.

-And so what did you imagine to get out of this situation?

-My friend and partner, Daniel, and me got together and said that we had not to let up just then. All our lives we had produced cheeses, all our lives we had elaborated on a milk base. And thus it came to us: to rank cheese market. Why not? Who elaborated or elaborates French cheeses in the region?

-Who?

-Nobody! There’s only one maker in La Laguna. So we made the little factory in Arroyo Cabral work and we started. Because to elaborate a Camembert, a Brie, a Morbier or a Raclette you need conditions that are very different from the ones you need for the “commodity” cheeses we are accustomed to.The project demanded a lot of effort, but when I saw the factory set up I felt a burst of happiness, I felt that something good was about to begin in our lives.

-What that “cost” was due to?

-To the fact that my partner and I said to each other that we would not use a liter of milk to elaborate anything until we had the necessary machinery and 100% asepsis in the factory. To have everything in the best conditions took us almost two years. Finally, we started producing.

-And how did it go?

-The cheeses we obtained made us feel very happy. But our trademark was not in the market yet. When we offered it we were asked where we sold our cheeses and we did not know what to say. For this reason, we introduced them in a supermarket chain in Córdoba and thus they became well known. We began receiving orders. Something started to work.

-Until there appeared Mercoláctea from San Francisco…..

-Oh yes, until Mercoláctea appeared and we participated with our soft rind cheeses and got that….

But Ricardo cannot go on talking and he is suddenly moved. His body and voice tremble, and who is looking at him is likely to think that the businessman is nearer the poetic thrill than the cold marketing style.

-Only remember gives me goose flesh…You see? We had registered for the competition but the aim was not to get a prize but to know what our position was at a national level. We needed that “scale” that is very difficult to get when you elaborate this type of specific products.

“If I hadn’t insisted, he wouldn’t have gone”, Karina joins in.

-Due to bad luck.- Rossa adds- because just two hours before leaving the whole factory electrical installation burnt. I was really desperate. If it hadn’t been for her …

“Switch off all boards keys and let’s go to the awards ceremony, anyway. We’ll repair the failure tomorrow” I told him- Karina comments. And finally that was what the Rossa did. They arrived at the ceremony just in time, and it was a miracle that they could get a parking place. When they were in, they could only find free seats in the last row. And just at that moment, the speaker announced: “Ladies and gentlemen…and now…the award for Pymes “Brie and Camembert” category. The Silver Medal goes to “Cabaña Piedras Blancas”

And the audience clapped one of the best national factories on this specialty. And Ricardo whispered to his couple “If Piedras Blancas is second, we are not even the tenth”, but all of a sudden, there was a sepulchral silence: the jury was about to read the maximum award distinction…”And the Gold Medal goes to “La Bohème” from Arroyo Cabral…”

Ricardo can’t get out of his seat. His wife embraces him, kisses him and pushes him, but he has no reaction. The speaker repeats “La Bohème, from Arroyo Cabral. Where is it?” So Ricardo gets up and starts walking as dizzy among people. He himself, who does not smoke or drink, feels drunk among people clapping that unknown mark. And when going up the steep stage stairs, he reels. He is about to fall down but someone grasps him…Who can it be but Karina? The jury is integrated by a Spaniard and a Frenchman; the Frenchman is called Rolland Perrin and he is an international authority specialized on cheeses from his country. When Richard receives the medal, Perrin embraces him so tightly as if he were a relative saying “Congratulations…It’s a great cheese, you have attained a great cheese, maybe a bit soft but…” “I did it thinking of Argentine palate” Ricardo says to him and goes back to his seat.

“That was the beginning of this road, this utopia, this bohemia…We are not earning money with the cheeses yet, but God willing (and He is willing), this time we will, this time…” And Ricardo is moved again. Those claps are still resounding in the echo of his heart, which never gives up.

I.W.

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“In the dairy industry there are products that are not so pure.” At this point of the interview, Ricardo Rossa referred to specific topics as regards cheese quality and to the new demand profile of Argentine consumer.

Camembert

“I have always thought that if we gave our Camembert a French flavor, here nobody would have it. You would never be near the shelves. Camembert, like Brie, is a white cheese with molded rind. Many people that have brought these cheeses by plane or bus have had some problem due to the strong smell they have. And that is what French people like. But here things are different. That’s why we adapted it to Argentine palate”.

La Bohème

“This is a small undertaking carried out with remarkable will and impressive effort. We are still very few people and we consider ourselves a poor company. I’m the firm’s attorney but also work as cheesemaker, plateman, deliveryman, press secretary. Why did we call it “La Bohème?” The name was suggested by Daniel because he reasonably said that we have always been idealistic, “bohemian” people in producing. So the company name is related to Charles Aznavour’s song and to the spirit of our proposal. “La Bohème” is also the hymn that sounds in our internet page opening.”

Gold Medal

“The most important aspect of having got this medal is not personal ego shinning but the recognition of a high quality product that is possible to elaborate here. We hadn’t been a month in market; nobody knew our product. We went to the ceremony to see how others were given a prize, and what happened was that one of the jury was French and he not only congratulated me but also sent me a letter. These are the caresses to the soul I previously mentioned. Our Camembert got 93.8% quality, which ranks it in an “extra” level very near “excellence”.”

Market and Quality

“In dairy industry there are products that are not so pure, mainly “commodities”. There are many “dulces de leche” that have no milk among their ingredients. I know a recipe including 40% pumpkin and powder whey. There are 25 ways of preparing “dulce de leche”. My friend Daniel had ironically written in the last page of a notebook “Let’s remember that “dulce de leche” can also be prepared with milk”. And this was what made us get apart from this world. The smaller the market, more cared for is the product and there are possibilities of making something of good quality that hasn’t got to compete with the big companies.”

The average Argentine consumer and his demand of excellence

“People got used to consume French cheeses when one dollar was one peso, but then the American coin went up and these products became completely unattainable for Argentine pockets. Nevertheless, we had carried out a small investigation and realized that people continued needing those products because some way they had included them in their diet. In France a kilo of Camembert, for example, is from 115 to 120 pesos. We sell a product of a very similar quality at approximately 70 pesos. I think that the average Argentine consumer is demanding more excellence. For the present, we only produce for internal consume. We think of the possibility of exporting in the future. The new products have already been tasted abroad and have the approval of some countries.”

Workmanship

“The cheeses we produce require a lot of handwork; they are practically artisan. And not only the elaboration itself but also the packaging. We need people who dedicate to make the wood boxes, the particular packaging and everything related to label prints. So, if this project develops, there will be many sources of work in Villa María and Arroyo Cabral.”

Total Asepsis

To elaborate Camembert and Brie total asepsis is needed. Every wall and floor is coated with plastic, as an operating room in a hospital. We have a permanent ventilation system, a sanitary filter that prevents the income of other molds other than white mold, which is the one we develop as it is the basic ingredient of these cheeses. Moreover, workers come in with absolutely sterile clothes. In the case of Morbier and Raclette, though the process is different, they also demand a lot of sanitary care.”

Published in diario Puntal de Villa María