It’s not a prerequisite to speak Italian at That’s Amore Cheese, but almost half of the Thomastown-based cheese factory’s staff converse in the romantic language.
Even New Zealand-born production manager Helen Ritchie rattles off a progress report to owner Giorgio Linguanti in his mother tongue, and morning greetings between staff involve a kiss on each cheek … and an espresso.
Mr Linguanti has come a long way since he first made bocconcini in his spare time about 10 years ago. He now employs 39 people – and not just Italians but Australians and Indians, he stresses – and has just moved the business into a brand new factory, eight times larger than the Donnybrook space he has rented since starting in 2008.
The 41-year-old has been in Australia for a decade and supplies Melbourne’s top restaurants with his award-winning burrata, a buttery cheese made from mozzarella and cream.
Each week That’s Amore Cheese churns through more than 40,000 litres of milk and produces about 7000 kilograms of cheese, no mean feat considering almost the entire range of 24 different sorts of cheese is crafted by hand.
Ms Ritchie said the caciocavallo is the most intensive cheese produced, weighing 2.6-kilograms each and stretched by hand in a process needing about two hours of labour.
Mr Linguanti, who was born on one of the Aolian Islands off the north coast of Sicily, says life in Australia is more conducive to building a successful business.
“The system here works for proactive people.
“In Italy it’s too bureaucratic, people get jealous when others succeed and it won’t happen unless you’re friends with corrupt people,” he says.
“I like the environment here, people are friendly. They talk to you without an agenda, just to be friendly.”
When he first arrived in Australia Mr Linguanti couldn’t speak a word of English. But he said a love of languages helped him grasp English quickly. He soon found love as well and now has four children.
Despite his business success and having a young family, Mr Linguanti continues to work long hours – a shift from 3.30am until 7.30am in production each morning then back to the office at 9.
During the Melbourne Good Food and Wine show next month, That’s Amore Cheese will launch a Burrata Bar selling dishes created by some of the city’s best chefs using the creamy cheese.
According to Mr Linguanti, burrata is all the rage in Italy. “I wanted to bring that to Melbourne where the food culture is so open and fantastic,” he said.
