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PETALING JAYA: The late Anthony Bourdain once said, “You have to be a romantic to invest your money and time in cheese.”
That would pretty much sum up Dexter Lim’s love affair with cheese, willing to give up a 12-year career as a real estate investor to fully immerse himself in making cheese.
FMT recently met with Lim, 40, the founder of D ‘Artisan Handmade Cheese, at his two-story home studio in Desa Park City, where he produces 49 different types of cheese on a regular basis.
On the dining table is a cheese board with a delicious selection of precious cheeses: Halloumi, Asiago, Caerphilly, Gouda, Feta, Gorgonzola and the lesser known Venezuelan Queso Fresco cheese delicately wrapped in banana leaf.
There are also several wheels of different heights, textures, colors, and sizes, all of the different types of cheese that Lim makes by hand.
Lim tells FMT that he took a leap of faith when he decided to leave his 12-year career as a real estate investor and venture into the exciting world of cheese making.
Before setting up his business, the cheeses he made were for personal consumption. “I quickly discovered that the commercial cheeses available on the market had between 15 and 20 ingredients that neither I nor my children could pronounce,” he says of additives and preservatives that are used in cheeses to extend their shelf life.
“I have a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son, so I don’t want my family to consume that,” he said.
Lim makes his cheeses from scratch, using his own natural starter cultures instead of commercial ones produced in laboratories.
It also sticks to the original recipes that call for organic cow’s milk, Himalayan salt, vegetable rennet, and vinegar.
“It’s a lot like how cheese was made 10,000 years ago, and by making it at home, I know exactly what is in it,” he says, taking pride in his cheese-making skills.
“My latest creation, number 49, is Wensleydale Cheese with Blueberries. It took me about two days.
“I already have in mind number 50, Port Salut, a type of cheese from France. But the hardest cheese that required many rounds of trial and error was the burrata. “
He admits to initially underestimating how difficult it was to make cheese. His first attempt at making fresh mozzarella resulted in a Ricotta-like mess, he says.
Refusing to admit defeat, Lim went ahead and today his fresh mozzarella is in such demand that one Italian customer even praised it.
“He said the mozzarella I made was as good as his mother’s. Imagine that, an Italian comparing my fresh mozzarella cheese to what his mother made, ”says Lim, showing a wide smile.
Also in their cheesemaking repertoire is Mysost, a type of Norwegian spreadable cheese with the consistency of smooth peanut butter.
This cheese has a sweet-salty flavor profile. “We are the only artisan cheesemakers producing Mysost here in Malaysia. It goes well with toast, crackers, sourdough bread, or even green apples. “
The doting father has also prepared two wheels of cheese for his children on their birthdays; Devrie’s Adventure, a blue pea blossom marble cheddar cheese for your daughter and Damon’s Bleu, a French blue cheese named after your son.
Lim also sells vegan cashew cheeses with bell pepper, tomato, sesame seeds, and Braggs. These cheeses, Lim says, do not contain sugar, preservatives, or gluten.
One of Lim’s less subtle and wacky cheese creations is made from jengkol, a stinky vegetable, spicier than petai. He says he first tried the vegetable in Indonesia and was hooked.
“The flavor stuck with me and I had the idea to make jengkol cheese! It even has chili peppers in it, and we’ve called it Harta. He is currently aging in the cave of cheese, ”he says.
For customers who want to experience new flavors, D ‘Artisan Handmade Cheese has its own Cheese of the Month club.
During this period, Lim carefully selects four to six of its finest quality artisan cheeses, perfectly aged, unique and rare to be the best of the month.
Each cheese is hand-cut, delicately wrapped, and presented with a unique information card that includes suggestions for the perfect pairing. There are also recipe ideas.
“We are currently thinking about how to expand and we hope to find a place, such as a production plant after the pandemic situation stabilizes.
“Right now, we are focusing on educating our consumers about the different types of cheeses available,” says Natalie, who handles the marketing and social media aspects of the business.
“Cheese is a 10,000-year love story,” Lim jokes enthusiastically. Holding two wheels of cheese in her hands and smiling like a Cheshire cat, there’s no question how deep Lim’s passion for cheese runs.
For more cheesy goodness, head over to D ‘Artisan Handmade Cheese at Facebook Y Instagram.
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