Italian Cheese - Made in Dubai?
There is a cheese oasis emerging in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates. Three Italian business parters have opened Italian Dairy Products, which produces Italian cheeses outside of Dubai using local milk products.
“It’s about time we had more local produce, even if it’s not 100 percent local,” said Alistair McCourtie, the managing partner of Admirals Trading, which distributes Italian Dairy Products’ cheeses in the local market. “The cheeses, for example, use local milk, but the local milk producers probably still use imported food for their cows.”
“The hardest customers are the Italian chefs,” Mr. McCourtie said. “They’re always comparing ingredients to their home towns and how their mothers used to do stuff, but the non-Italian chefs love the freshness of the products.” Mr, McCourtie represents about 40 food brands, 20 percent of which are from the Emirates.
