From cheese to fromage in France. Gianluca Canu, a 40-year-old from Sassari , has turned his passion for dairy products into a lifelong journey, moving from the capital of Sassari to his cousins across the Alps. "When I arrived, I didn't speak a word of French," he reveals 15 years later, now bilingual, and just days after reaching a milestone: judge at the Mondial du Fromage , held in Tours, France, from September 14th to 16th.

"The only Sardinian international judge taster in a competition where 1,900 cheeses from all over the world were exhibited ." From China to Japan, from Europe to the United States, to Kazakhstan and his "creation" made with prized cinnamon milk. "We were divided by specialty and asked to evaluate, under the guidance of 12 Supreme Judges, products whose origins we did not know."

Incidentally, the winner was the Swiss Gruyère PDO, aged for one year, one of the marvels of which Gianluca, like an expert wine sommelier, has come to appreciate and understand every minute component. "There are five judging criteria," he recalls, "Sight, smell, texture, taste, harmony." He developed them from a schoolboy quote from Sassari when he was a student at the Pellegrini Agricultural Technical Institute. "The passion is ancient, born in school. I was fascinated by the process that leads to the creation of cheese."

After graduating as an agricultural expert, he began building his expertise in cured meats with Marco Casu, who acted as his mentor, before making the big leap. He ended up in Mandelieu, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, where he now manages a cheese shop, collaborates with the international Auchan group , and never loses touch with customers. "For me, the office is a noose around my neck; I always wear my apron with pride." Just like his parents, who owned "La pagnotteria di Paolo e Maria" at Via Napoli 5 in Sassari from 1973 to 2020.

"I display 257 different types of cheese that I select myself on the counter. People ask me for advice on which to eat for different occasions, from aperitifs to dinners to evenings with friends." And in an advertising video, Canu suggests the choices in a perfect French accent, but never forgets where he comes from. "I also had a company here, which I later sold, called 'I 4 Mori' because that's another source of pride for me: carrying the name of Sardinia to the fore."

To achieve this, he never stops, and taking advantage of his typically French penchant for competitions, he now aims to become a trainer for the south of France, to participate as an expert in the industry's top international competitions, and in two years, he wants to be selected as the world's best cheese master. And when he has a day off, he takes off his apron to help local farmers and ranchers tend to goats, cows, and sheep. "It's very hard work, never a break. But it's also incredibly rewarding." Like that of Master fromager for Gianluca, a Sassari transplant, whose eyes light up when he talks about Camembert "and the spoon technique" or Salers, another type of cheese made with raw cow's milk. But he can't help it: "I like all cheeses."

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