When Heilongjiang native Liu Yang, 37, decided to leave his technical support job for a change of scene in France 10 years ago, he did not expect to come back as a cheesemaker. Now, his four-man workshop Le Fromager de Pekin, located in a northern suburb of Beijing, is turning out authentic French cheeses that line the shelves of the capital's expatriate supermarkets and are sent to cities further afield, from Shenyang to Shanghai.
What was your childhood like - have you always loved cheese?
I grew up on a farm in Heilongjiang and have always had milk in my diet. My granny had two goats when I was a child, and she later bought a cow for milk. So although people say goat's milk tastes strong, I'm actually quite used to it. But I had never tried cheese until I went to France. A few days after I arrived at my university in Clermont-Ferrand, we had a cold buffet where local cheeses were served with wine and ham. I remember not being very used to the texture of the cheeses, although I found them aromatic.
What brought you to France? How did you become a cheesemaker?
After university I worked in Beijing as technical support for a company that sells cash registers in Beijing. After a few years I was bored with it, so when my former teacher told me about a study programme he runs in France, I leapt at the chance. I took some French classes and was in Clermont-Ferrand within six months. I did various jobs while I studied. I've always liked cooking.
I was studying business management and initially I was planning to get a job with a good company when I got back to China. But when I completed a second degree in international trade in Corsica I decided to try to run my own business - but what?