Meet AGDA’s deputy chief judge Russell Smith…

If you haven’t met Russell Smith yet and you’re in the business of anything cheese, odds are you will.

The AGDA Deputy Chief Judge, Cheese Consultant and Educator, is the proverbial Cheese Master Extraordinaire, spending much of his time training and educating young chefs, restaurateurs and waiters, retailers and consumers, on the quality, taste and versatility of our world-class Australian cheeses. Any spare time is usually spent judging competitions, running cheese appreciation courses, making his own cheese and travelling overseas to check out what the rest of the world’s cheese-makers are up to.

Dairy Australia recently caught up with Russell to find out what makes him so passionate about cheese…

Can you tell me a bit about your background?
I grew up in Toowoomba on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. Apart from the huge Downs Co-operative factory on the edge of town there were numerous small cheese and butter factories in the area. I remember when "Unity Blue" was launched in 1962 by the Downs co-op. It was the pride of the south east Queensland dairy industry. We always had cheddar in the fridge from one of the small factories. My dad's favourite was Red Malling; cheddar made at the local Malling Cheese Factory at Jondaryan. My taste for good cheddar began early.

In my mid twenties I spent a year in Europe exploring the food culture. I’d always loved cheese and returned with a new fascination for it. Fortunately different cheeses were beginning to be made in Australia and I soon found myself seeking out the pioneers of the specialist cheese industry.

After a two year stint cooking in the UK in the mid 90's, I came home and bought a cheese shop and distribution business in Canberra. This is where I really started to learn about cheese. We never sold cheese that I hadn’t tasted first and this meant tasting between 40 and 50 cheeses each week - a great way to train your palate to understand the complexity of cheese flavors.

Can you tell me a little about your role with Electrolux Appetite for Excellence (EAE)?
The program is a wonderful opportunity to introduce young chefs to some of the best Australian cheeses. In 2010, and again this year, I’m presenting a sensory workshop for state finalists in this competition. After a cheese-making demonstration I spend time educating them on how and why we taste and putting them through a series of tests to determine each persons "taste profile". We then go on to apply this to cheese. I’ve had an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to the workshop in each state and thoroughly enjoy working with this very enthusiastic group of young food professionals.

You’ve just been overseas again, where and why?
I’ve just spent a month in the UK; talking, judging and making cheese. I was invited to judge the Global Cheese Awards at the Frome Cheese Show in Somerset – the home of traditional cheddar-making. Of the 1300 cheeses judged there were around 800 cheddars! In the weeks after the judging I was invited to spend time making cheddar with two of the traditional cheese-makers in the area. It was a great learning experience for me.

What are other countries doing with cheese that impresses you?
As in Australia there’s an emerging specialty cheese industry in the UK. There are comparisons with Australia, Canada, America and New Zealand, with a rapid growth since the late 70's in cheeses other than those traditionally made. I tasted many superb goat cheeses, washed rind and blues, all made by cheese-makers new to the industry.

What are your aspirations for the Australian specialist cheese industry?
Australian cheese-makers need to concentrate on quality and consistency more than ever. With increasing competition from imports, we need to make sure our products stand out from the rest. One of the most exciting programs I’m involved in is “Camembert in the Classroom”. I first trialed the program in Brisbane in 2009 and this year Dairy Australia has funded a pilot program in rural Victoria and in Sydney. I run a one day cheese-making workshop for teachers who then take what they’ve learnt into the classroom. The students make the cheese and then the cheeses are judged at a Big Day Out presentation - the competition is fierce. The best of the cheeses are equal to those found in your deli or on a supermarket shelf. Over the next three to four years we intend to run this program out Australia wide.