You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Meet Francis Bigot
Job:
Cheesemaker.
Job description:
Yoghurt and cheese processing from milk to final product ensuring quality and food safety regulations.
Work background:
Studied cheese making in specialized school in France for 5 years and in apprenticeship then worked in different places at home and overseas.
Favourite part of job:
Cutting the curd and molding.
Least favourite part of job:
Packing.
What I am working on now:
Developing solutions to improve equipment allowing better efficiency.
A quick story about a job well done:
Very nice to hear feedback from people in New Zealand saying that the cheese tastes as good (if not better) than products they tried when travelling in my home country (France).
A (humorous) story about a job that went badly and what you learned:
Conducting experiments and aiming for a certain type of cheese but the result turns out to be completely different from what's expected, and still becomes very good and a "new product".
Qualifications:
Certificates in food science specializing in dairy products.
Interests outside work:
Squash, basketball, fishing, brewing(beer) and travelling.
Francis Bigot is a cheese maker at Thorvald Farm. Image: F. Bigot.