We like our cheese but we also don't like the fact that international and imported cheese costs an arm and a leg. Luckily, the artisanal cheese market in India is evolving and we were lucky enough to be introduced to Le Pondicherry Cheese by our good friends at Ishka Farms. Based out of Pondicherry, cheese man and co-founder Parshva Kapadia tells us how he's been in the cheese business for almost a decade and how he went from processing 30 litres of milk to 1,000 litres of milk a day. Le Pondicherry Cheese started around 2021 and currently does not just supply to cafes and restaurants in Pondicherry but they have a presence in Kochi, Delhi, Calcutta, Jaipur, and Goa with plans to soon launch in Bangalore and Mumbai. But let's talk cheese first.
Parshva tells us that there are about six to nine varieties of cheese that Le Pondicheery Cheese—fresh and aged cheese. In the aged cheese, the Baby Swiss, which is a take on the traditional Swiss cheese, recently won Gold at the International Cheese & Dairy Awards 2023 (it's a 150-year-old award and pretty big in the cheese and dairy world). We tried it and found that it has that nice sweet, nutty flavour. It's a mild cheese (hence the name) and pairs well with salads and omelettes.
The Pondy Orange, which is a take on English Cheddar, and is so-called because of its origins, is a bolder cheese and works great for all those grilled cheese sandwiches and mac and cheese. In the fresh cheese, there's ricotta, mozzarella, bocconcini, feta, and haloumi.
Delivery is Pan-India and one can place orders via Swiggy Mini.
