Adds Raffaele: “Now everybody knows that they have to wash their hands before milking or processing the cheese. They learn very quickly. We have worked hard to combine Italian expertise with Indian ingenuity.”

How smooth was the Italian’s move to Himachal? “In the beginning we had to communicate by computer, by means of a translation programme, because we couldn’t speak each other’s language. Our mails were always translated. Now he has taught me English and the business is going great,” says Cioffi. He is not into spices yet and cooks an occasional Italian meal for his colleagues.

Their cheese plant, which went operational in March 2006, has the capacity to produce 68 lakh kg a year of specialty mozzarella cheese. The company, listed on the BSE, has registered a 91.27 per cent growth in net profits to Rs 2.5 crore for the quarter ended September 2007.

In the USA, their collaborators are Winsconsin-based Artignale Italiano and their cheeses are being used by fine dinning restaurants. They will soon be introduced in club stores like Costco and Traders Joe.

The next step is launching Italian frozen cheeses in the Indian market. The company has tied up with Reliance to retail its cheese in India under the brand name Bufalabella. “Within the next three years, we expect a Rs 100-crore turnover from the domestic market. This year we expect Rs 35-crore-plus from our Indian operations. We target the young Indians with high disposable incomes,” says Malik.