Classic Italian mozzarella being handcrafted in Belfast
Classic Italian mozzarella cheese is being handcrafted by a native of Sardinia now living in Belfast.
Davide Thani, a former radar engineer in the Italian air force, has recently launched Velocheese, a small cheese company, and is crafting fresh mozzarella, Stracciatella, Scamorza and Maple wood smoked Scamorza by hand in Belfast. He is also planning to craft other Italian cheeses such as ricotta and perhaps ‘casu axedu’, which he describes as “a Sardinian acid cheese, a fresh fermented cheese that’s great with fermented food”.
A graduate in Electronic Engineering, Davide grew up in Sardinia where “almost everyone either had or still has a small vegetable garden, some livestock and made everything at home including cheese, bread, jam, wine and cured meats. “I milked cows, picked olives for our own oil and tomatoes for the yearly batch of passata. I pressed grapes in welly boots and milked cows for fresh milk and cheese including Sardinia’s famous pecorino cheese.”
His love of food was also encouraged during his stint in the Italian Air Force, he continues. “As it happens military bases there are enclosed protected places, ideal to foraging with my colleagues, many of whom were also part time farmers,” continues Davide.
The decision to start making his own Italian cheese followed his move to Belfast with his family – his wife Sarah who is from the city, in 2015. “My decision to make my own mozzarella is the outcome of a craving for fresh cheeses. Fresh as meaning just-made cheeses,” he explains. “I was also impressed by the quality of raw ingredients in Northern Ireland and was excited to be involved in the evolving artisan food world here. It’s a very dynamic sector,” he adds.
“Northern Ireland is certainly not short of quality milk! Farmview Dairies in Castlereagh is my current supplier for non-homogenised, pasteurised milk. The rennet I import from Italy,” he continues.
He remembers making his first cheese during a trek in the Italian Alps with a friend. “I had a bottle of raw milk in my rucksack which was turned into cheese by heat and movements. While my friend didn’t try it because in her eyes, it was just milk that had went off, I was very excited. It was good and I enjoyed it. I had probably just experienced how humans first discovered cheese,” he adds.
Davide subsequently decided to upgrade his knowledge of cheese production by studying with experts at Puglia in southern Italy. This included making Fior di latte”, a mozzarella made with cows' milk, and burrrata which was first made in Puglia. “Burrata is another cows’ milk cheese made from mozzarella, rennet and cream. It has an unusual, soft texture.
“I am now focused in making paste filate, a “stretched curd mozzarella,” he says. “I remember once when I was still a child going to buy mozzarella in Sardinia. I went to the door of the cheese making room and bought a mozzarella that had just been made and was still warm. I remember it was the best mozzarella I had ever tasted,” he adds.
His ambition is to bring this experience to cheese lovers in Northern Ireland and hopes to demonstrate the cheese at events in the region. He’s already been supported by several local delis which are now selling the mozzarella.
“The feedback from delis and their customers who have tasted the mozzarella is immensely encouraging,” Davide adds.
As well as being passionate about fresh cheese, Davide is focused on sustainability and has plans to setup a new business that will provide guidance on minimising waste and energy use. The company name Velocheese reflects his longstanding interest in emission-free transport.