Just follow the goat sign.

It was after a whole lot of twists and turns that I reached Shai Seltzer�s cheese den, hidden deep in the Judean mountains. I doubt I would have found this hideout on my own, but for the fact that my escort and guide happened to be Daniel Zonshine, the present Consul General of Bombay, who knows his way around his country pretty well. It was thanks to him that I heard about this rural Xanadu, and just for that I will forever be grateful to him.

Shai, come from the Biblical era?

This cheese haven is certainly the mother of all UpperCrust discoveries. Here is Shai Selzter, a kind of man that doesn�t come along too often, living in comfortable seclusion, happily doing just what he wants to and on his terms. Which is rearing happy and handsome goats on his farm, producing amazing cheese that is cured in a cave, shunning the modern corporate world and seriously championing the concept of the slow food movement.

It�s a tiny commune that Shai has created. Situated west of Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of Mount Eitan, by the Sataf Springs, there is an aura about the place that I connected with instantly. It�s like going back to your roots. Getting in touch with your forgotten self. I could picture Osho, the spiritual master from India and Shai sitting having a peaceful chat. I could hang in there forever.

Mikhail Bicquriem, Tamar, Chevre: Special cheeses from Shai Seltzer.

But I had work to do and got down to the task after saying hello to all the goats around and letting the oohs and ahhs in my mind settle down.

So what gives, Shai? �Well, I�ve been here 35 years. I was a teacher at the University (so there�s the Osho connection) and one day felt I couldn�t go back, that there was something else to my life. I came here and started slowly, got a few local goats let them use the energy of the mountains, they lived here, grazed here. Then I got some Zangabi goats from Syria and Nubian goats from Africa and yet later Anglo-Nubian ones (a breed developed by Britain and British Columbia) which I crossbred with the Zangabi. The result was a wonderful goat highly adapted to the local habitat, producing 600 to 800 litres of milk per year, as compared to just 100 by the local ones.

Cheese anyone? We got plenty!

Today I have reached where I am,� he smiles and gently shrugs. Which is producing the most divine cheese, becoming world famous for that and obstinately refusing to get commercial (except for some high-end restaurants, he does not supply to stores and supermarkets or gourmet shops either).

Shai�s world of handsome, happy goats.

Shai also encourages people to come to his farm not just pick the best of cheese, but also sit and taste all that he has, in the process educating them on the nuances of cheese making and cheese tasting, like he did me. �Slowly, slowly,� he reproached, �you taste it slowly, like this�, he continued, putting a bit of cheese in his mouth, almost at the tip of his tongue, allowing it to melt, rolling it gently, working the tongue around... Honest to God, it made a difference. I have been through several tastings, food, wine, olive oil, tea, bread and what not, but cheese and in this manner, and such unique setting - it was the first time. I became a fan of Shai Seltzer.

Hooves which become a musical instrument.

�A fine cheese expresses itself through its texture and flavour and in order to acquire these aspects everything counts, from climate to bacteria. We make cheese according to the dominant component of the pasture feed which has a strong effect on the milk structure. Enzymes, yeast and bacteria are added to the milk. A curd is created and then cut and shaped into moulds. After solidifying, the cheese is salted and treated by various affinage methods, some are coated with coal powder, others with residue from the grapes that are crushed for wine in vineyards around here, some with grape leaves. The cheese are then ripened and matured in a natural lime stone cave, from a few months to even a couple of years. This helps develop the full character, the aroma of the cheese.�

Milk�s good for you, honey!...

Shai thinks milk is the ultimate food on earth and he uses milk as a platform for medicine. In winter the goats eat a particular plant, which helps diabetic people. Their cheese was researched by Napoli University and experiments on rats did prove that the insulin balance was maintained after eating that specific cheese. In summer the goats eat a plant that helps in digestion. All year long they eat a kind of wild asparagus, and three weeks of such eating helps create an aphrodisiac cheese. Wow, who needs powdered rhino horns after this!

With Raya, the daughter who helps run the place

The tour of the place was a nice experience. The goats looked happy and Shai walking around in a white pyjama and vest, with his cap and flowing white beard could easily be a relative of Moses. There is so much character to him.

Entering the cave was a treat. Made of limestone it has the ideal temperature at 17 degrees Celsius with the right touch of humidity. Looking around at the bricks of cheese curing I couldn�t help but thank the Lord for making all sorts of creative people in this world, look how they enrich our lives!