Author Topic: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)  (Read 1729 times)

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Offline Geo

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International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« on: April 18, 2022, 06:28:00 PM »
An open letter to all cheese makers and enthusiasts on Mundus from the HPDG of the Basnio region of Niš.

Dear all,

As many cheese makers and fans will know, the Mundus International Cheese Festival is held every six years since its inception in 1830, making it the 32nd Festival of its type. This year, the Board of the Festival has chosen the Basnio region of Niš to host this festival.

The Festival will be, like it's past iterations, a chance for cheese makers and enthusiasts all over the globe to bring their own cheeses to showcase, and to sample cheeses you may not have tried. It aims to also allow newcomers to the cheese world to get a better grasp of it, with giving everything from taste testing to tips and tricks from veteran cheese makers on how the amateur cheese maker can perfect their cheese. It gives professional cheese makers a chance to reach a wider audience with their cheeses as well, whilst also allowing consumers to scout the market for new delicacies.

This year's Festival will also have a special showcase of local cheeses from the Basnio region, featuring an exhibit put together by local Basnion cheese makers on the history of cheese in Basnio.

The Festival will also be featured on many TV networks for those unable to make the trip to Niš themselves, and cheese vloggers and other online video recorders will also be invited.

We welcome Festival goers and those who will watch on TV or online, and ask that you enjoy yourselves.

Faithfully yours,
Muhammad Adem Kopanja
Head of Produce and Dairy Goods, Basnio Region, Niš.

OOC:
Feel free for anyone to take part with this rp, for anyone from a cheese maker at the festival showcasing your nation's cheeses, a cheese company trying to peddle their wares, a reporter or vlogger reporting for the festival or even just a festival goer. No characters from Niš of a higher government position than a local official will feature, so don't feel anyone has to be a big cheese from your nation. This rp is also an excuse for me to flesh out Basnio a bit more, so feel free to prod that with a stick if you want to.

The rp is open to anyone, and hopefully anyone who does take part will enjoy it  :)  Cheese is near universally enjoyed by the peoples of the world, and the amount of real life cheese on offer is brie-lliant, and don't take my curd for it, look at this Wikipedia article. I can assure you, cheese is gouda fun. Sorry if all these cheese puns were kind of cheesy  ;)  .
« Last Edit: April 18, 2022, 09:36:17 PM by Geo »

Offline Geo

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2022, 10:41:22 PM »
Mensur Zahirovic held up a wheel of cheese in front of the crowd gathered around his stall. This was one of the dozen times he'd done this morning, and if this held up over the next three days of the festival, he'd be worn out in no time.

"This," he said to the expectant crowd, "is Livanjski sir, and as the name suggests, comes from the area of Livanjski. This wheel is made of only sheep's milk, but can also be made from cow's milk, as well as a mixture of the two. Exclusively sheep's milk has become rarer in modern days, but my family still uses. You're more likely to find it made of only cow's milk nowadays. As well as all that, industrial processes for this kind of cheese has become more and more common, whilst we still make it entirely by hand. It's authentic like no other Livanjski."

He use a wire cutter to cut the wheel in half, showing its dark yellow insides.

"You will observe its colour, I hope. This wheel has been aged for 120 days, and is thus quite dark. The longer a wheel of Livanjski is aged, the darker it becomes. It makes it quite easy to tell if someone is trying to swindle you with a young wheel."

He used the wire cutter to cut one half of the wheel into thin wedges, placing them on a platter and handing it out to the crowd to be sampled. One half of the platter was already filled with a slightly paler cheese.

"The paler cheese you have been given is also Livanjski, yet this one has only been aged for 85 days, the standard amount my family ages ours. The consistency is hard, yet elastic, and it has around medium sized eyes. If you would smell the younger cheese," he held a slice himself up to his nose and breathed it in, "you will notice it has a calm, nutty aroma. The same is true of the more aged Livanjski, yet it is much more pronounced. This carries into its flavour too, both have quite a strong flavour, take a bite. The flavour however gets more pronounced and clear the longer its aged, as you'll hopefully see."

He waited for everyone to finish off their slice, before resuming.

"For eating it as part of a meal, we recommend you eat it not as part of the main course, but as a starter or compliment to the starter. It goes well with smoked meat, and I have been told it goes well with a strong wine. The price of a wheel will vary depending on the age of the wheel and the radius, but if you want to talk to my sister here she'll discuss pricing with you, there's a discount for the festival. In addition, 25% of all proceeds we make from cheese is donated to the Basnion Reconstruction Organisation, helping Basnion families and communities affected by the War of Union. That's a quarter of all proceeds ma'am."

As the crowd left and a new one descended, Mensur drank some water and cracked his jaw. He was starting to regret volunteering for this task.

Offline Altona

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2022, 09:56:16 PM »
OOC - post lost, expect some German smoked cheese to turn up tomorrow evening.

Offline Altona

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2022, 10:01:24 PM »
Leopold Baumbach was the Chief Buyer of the supermarket chain "Stadt One", like most Altonan chains it wasn't huge because if you're from a nation of only 8.5million people there was only so much room for expansion, especially with so many crammed into one large settlement. That didn't matter hugely though as Altonan's enjoyed rather diverse offerings of food and drink and so that gave Leopold a chance visit new places and taste new things. A cheese Festival therefore was a chance to perhaps take a few samples home and maybe start some new lines. He had stood and watched Mensur's pitch and then as people left headed over. "I'm from a group of stores in Altona. We've an interest in stocking some new and interesting products. What I would like to do is make an arrangement with you on a test basis. I'd like to see if you could provide us with some Livanjski, some to fit a budget shoppers price, some of the standard product and some of the well aged stuff for a more upmarket price range. I heard you speak of an 85 day and a 120 day product but is there perhaps any chance of something for that lower end of the market in terms of price?" He waited for Mensur to respond while fishing in his pocket for a business card.



Roswitha Kästner may have only been 22 but she had a decade of cheese making experience behind her. Unlike most Altonan's her family lived outside of the major city in a farm that their great-great-great and so no grandfather had carved out of the vast forest. It was now valuable farmland with hundreds of hardy sheep who ran free among the grasslands and even into some of the forests. Those sheep were the central part of the KästnerKäse business. They produced a rich slow smoked cheese that was done over a month long period, much longer than most of the commercial mass produced cheese. They had cut a wheel up into cubes and stuck little Altonan flags in it along with their stall number and were out mingling among the crowd to let them taste the produce. Back at the stall Roswitha's father Edgar was busy telling people all about the farm more than the cheese kind of defeating the reason for being here.

Offline Achkaerin

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2022, 06:34:31 PM »
Jenny Hamer had spent her fair share of time around festivals like this but usually those were back at home, not international. Jenny herself was a chef and owned her own restaurant called Hunter's Lodge, a nice little place inside Valkyria national park, not a big kitchen but that wasn't what mattered, good food was always recognised but also Jenny was working hard to make the place something special, a zero waste and green restaurant, they had their own garden where they grew their own fruit and veg, they made sure nothing went to waste in the butchery. A fair or festival like this was a chance for Jenny and her protege Leah Evans to branch out, meet potential new suppliers and so on. They'd spent a fair bit of time tasting various cheese samples.

"That's an interesting one." Leah said after they tasted a sample "Rich but not overpowering... nice and smoky it'd go well in a sauce."
"I bet it would." Jenny said she'd noticed the Altona flags "Come on." she led Leah off in search of that particular stall.

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2022, 08:50:53 PM »

It was not, certainly, the most typical venue and task for Zhuldyz Birinseli. Still, she was ready to entertain herself in the festival while the real purpose of her visit awaited.

Zhuldyz, indeed, wearing a beige business suit and dangly silver earrings, did not look as the typical cheese seller. For the most part, she left the other hostess to do most of the job, comforatbly in her supervising and manager role, but when the right time arrived, she was ready to show her skills. She wondered for a second if moments like these were routine for her own grandmother, before luck changed for them.

"Welcome!", she suddenly said. "Have you heard about our Sheboli? A pity! I can assure it is the most tasteful and delicious cheese in Mktvartvelo. It is something unique, I must say, and we still do it according the traditional way. Our Sheboli is a brined and smoked cheese, originally from the central region of our country. It has a sour, slightly salty flavor, but a soft texture and elastic consistency. Most of our country's homes buy it every day, and that's for a reason. I can assure you that our certified Sheboli is produced only of natural ingredients, including naturalized cow milk, of course. Although we have regional varities which may include other kind of cattle, including buffalo, which are a cheaper but still tasty alternative. I must add that these cheese are widely used in several religious ceremonies in my country, so you may consider it a sacred cheese as well!".

"I'm glad to see that some of you seem familiarized enough", she continued. "I'm glad we may have a few connoisseurs, as they say. But we have more unique but more unknown gems that may surprise both your curiosity and taste, of course...Lako!". She did not lose her smile although her pupils moved around for a few seconds, impatiently. The hostess finally brought a tray which had about a dozens of odd, in the eyes of many visitors to the festival at least, white balls.

"What is this, you may wonder?", Zhuldyz explained. "I introduce you our Mgrvali, a dairy delicacy from the eastern provinces of Mktvartvelo. It is said that they have been eaten for thousands of years. These long-lasting snacks, are produced traditionally from mare's soured milk, by straining the liquid into soft curds, shaping them into small balls disks, and leaving them in the sun to harden. As a result, they are as portable as versatile, able to both satiate both hunger and thirst. Unlike Sheboli, the Mgrvali is not devoured, I may recommend, but be enjoyed in small doses. They are perfect for salads, soup, stews, or simply dissolved into yoghurt. But don't be afraid to start with a tiny nibble now! They are great bar snacks as well, easily enjoyable calcium bombs". While Lako passed with the stray around for those curious enough, Lamara approached with a smaller stray, offering small pieces.





Offline Geo

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2022, 10:08:24 PM »
_

Mesnur shook his head at Leopold.

“I am sorry my friend,” he said, “but me and my family have a strict rule for our production, Livanjski sir. And that is to aim for the highest quality, all the time. I can speak on behalf of my family when I say that we sincerely appreciate your offer. But we cannot mass produce our cheese, not when it would require a drop in quality. We’d be happy to take up your offer of an upmarket price range, however we’re probably not going to be able to fit supply demands.”

He remembered something suddenly, pulling out a pen and writing on the back of a pamphlet on brie he’d picked up earlier. Handing it over to Leopold, it could be seen to be a phone number.

“This is Ahmed Gudelj’s number, he’s one of our neighbours. He heads our local… um.. cheese club (I guess you’d call it?). It hasn’t really done much, but if you wanted to work out a deal to get alot of high quality Livanjski sir, you’d probably want to arrange a meeting with him, and then with the rest of us. We’re all farmers of it, and pretty good at it too.”

He pointed over at a different stall, where someone was advertising not their cheese, but rather their methods of production. It had drawn a sizable crowd, most likely of those interested in the nuances of modern mechanical cheese production.

“Talk to my friend Alchmed. He makes lots of Livanjski sir, the expert of mass production in our tiny little corner of the world. If you want lots of Livanjski sir, he is the man to ask. Don’t tell him I complimented him though. The bastard would never let me live it down.”

________________________________________

The Cheese Festival wasn’t the usual place Oliver Chavez and his wife usually went on holiday. But they’d been in area, touring the countryside, so they had decided to give it a go.

He’d seen cheese of all colours, flavours and smells. Some he had liked, others he discreetly spat into a bin. He stopped outside one of the stands, apparently from Mktvartvelo. He’d never been to the country himself, but he had some relatives who had been.



OOC- Sorry I couldn’t respond to everyone or in as much detail as i’d like to the people i did respond to

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2022, 10:35:11 PM »

"How can we help you?", Zhuldyz asked to the last couple to stop outside their place. She repeated it in at least two other languages, as she was not sure if they were locals or not.

"Lako!", she added, without losing her smile but slightly losing her patience. "Don't stand up there that quiet".

"Would you like to try a bite of Mgrvali?", Zhuldyz asked back to the couple. "Don't worry, it's free and may be an unique experience".

Offline Bookshop

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Re: International Cheese Festival 2022- Niš (open rp)
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2022, 01:46:32 AM »
Every day outside the vales had been a parade of wonders for Evwin, and this one was shaping up to be the same. When she'd signed up for Jyre's "Cultural Exchange Corps," she hadn't been sure what to expect. Images of stark concrete and sooty clouds had danced in her nightmares, alongside every cautionary tale about outside invaders and their barbaric nature. But this? This was beautiful, in its own alien way.

She didn't need to know all the languages to hear the wind flapping through banners or smell the pungent aromas. Every booth was an adventure in flavours she'd never imagined. And so she wandered aimlessly, taking each moment as it came. Sure, she was supposed to be taking notes and gathering recipes. But simply living is a part of culture too... right? Besides, the few dozen other children of Jyre were surely gathering plenty of foreign knowledge to send home.

With a broad grin, she took a bite of the flatbread and goat cheese she'd been holding.
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Matron Dina cursed softly in her native tongue as she scanned the crowd.

"What rock has damned our river today?" asked Toin, as he handed a thin wedge of Jyre's customary herbal cheese to an eager fairgoer.

"You... weren't supposed to hear that, Toin" Dina sighed. "But our bus leaves in an hour, and half our cohort can't yet make sense of outsider clocks."

"Mmm" came the noncommittal reply.

Sparing a glance at the electric timekeeper she'd recently acquired, then at the darkening sky, Dina let out another sigh. "Cail! Toin! Close down our stand for the night, and stop any of our people you see. I'm going to hunt around for the missing ones."

"Actually I'll just call them" Matron Cail responded with a wink.

"Who knows if they're even within earsh..... oh."

Cail produced her own timekeeper and, with a few swipes and taps on its glassy surface, Dina's timek... no, phone, began to chime.

This was going to take some getting used to.