#Metierdulait – David Maillard, assistant cheese-maker, Haute-Saône.

David Maillard: Hello, I’m David Maillard, I’m 52 and I live in Haute-Saône in north-east France, just a few kilometres from the Milleret dairy where I have been assistant cheesemaker for seven years now.

DM: Because my job involves several different roles, the work tends to vary from day to day and it’s rare to spend an entire week in the same place. This week for example, I will be working on maturation on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Wednesday I’m working on fodder, and Thursday in the cellars. The first thing I do when I arrive is look at the day’s production schedule drawn up the previous day by the cheesemaker, depending on customer orders. In maturation, my role is to steer the cheesemaking process step-by-step: the milk is prepared, acidified, transferred to the tank, then placed in a mould. Each stage in the process must be carefully timed, methodically following the steps in the recipe, which indicates for example the exact quantities of cultures or rennet to add to the milk. There are six or seven of us working in production, one person per post, and the shift ends around midday. So, I tend to work either mornings from 4.30am to 12pm, or afternoons from 12pm to 7.30pm with a 30-minute break. It’s a fast-paced environment, yet there’s a great working atmosphere among colleagues!

DM: I’m really pleased with the career change, as people trusted in me and gave me the opportunity to train on the job, so my role is really varied; every day is different, which is a huge bonus! My salary has increased over time and the company offers a range of benefits, including overtime pay at weekends, various incentive-based schemes and an additional end-of-year bonus equivalent to a month’s salary. Finally, on a personal level, my career to date is a natural progression that makes total sense; you find the same connection with the product in both restaurants and cheesemakers, and the same sense of pride in adding value to the raw materials for customers to enjoy.

DM: Anything is possible if you really set your mind to it. You need to put your heart and soul into the job, take a real interest in the work, be inquisitive, and make an effort to progress! I am living proof of someone earning a living in this field, without necessarily being a cheese expert when I started.