A Montreal newcomer's love of cheese has inspired him to give other fromage fans the power to be their own mozzarella makers.

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s very tasty and there’s a big difference in quality,” said U MAIN co-founder Pascale Richard. “You can’t have a fresher cheese than the one that you make on your own at home.”

Richard and her boyfriend Max Valencia fell in love while travelling in South America. Valencia eventually moved to Canada to be with her, but soon discovered the cheese around here was not what he was used to.

“It was bad or expensive,” he said. “The good one was very expensive and the cheap one was pretty lousy compared to what I was used to, living in Argentina and Mexico.”

Using lessons from Valencia’s mother, the two began making their own cheese and soon started selling cheese-making kits.

The kits include ingredients, instruments, video tutorials and plenty of recipes – each kit will produce 35 blocks of 500 gram cheese.

“There’s something very special about making cheese,” said Richard. “Every time I make it, I’m happy and I’m proud of myself, even though I’ve made it hundreds of time.”