During her time living there, Paula Lambert fell head over heels in love with Italy. A lifelong Texan, she came home to Dallas feeling so inspired by her dining experiences overseas that she started the Mozzarella Company in 1982. Since then, Paula’s company has embraced all things cheese, expanding to make more than 30 kinds — from feta and queso fresco to mascarpone and scamorza — all by hand. With this year marking 40 years in business, Paula is molding a legacy right here in the Metroplex.
I LIVED IN… Italy for five years in the late ’60s and early ’70s before I got married. I loved everything about Italy. I loved the architecture and the colors and the sunlight and the wine and the food. So when I came back to the United States in 1973, I missed all those things a lot. I started to think of a way that I could have a business that would involve Italy.
I CAME UPON THE IDEA… of making fresh mozzarella because I had loved the mozzarella and tomato salad that they had in Italy. The mozzarella was very soft and creamy and moist, and we didn’t have anything like that in the United States, in Texas especially. So I decided that I would make it myself.
I LEARNED HOW… to make it and I started my factory in 1982. It felt great. I could have the fresh mozzarella that I loved.
WE MAKE… 100,000 pounds of cheese a year, and it’s all by hand. All of our cheesemakers are women, and they’re very good at doing this.
WE HAVE… 15 employees, 30 to 40 different cheeses and sell to about 100 accounts, including restaurants, hotels, stores and such. Plus, we sell to distributors who sell to many more customers.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, WE ONLY… made fresh mozzarella and ricotta. As time progressed from the very beginning, I saw that we couldn’t make it. The company was not selling enough, because all we had was mozzarella and ricotta.
I DECIDED TO GO BACK… to Italy and travel around the country and visit little cheese factories in little villages… I observed them making different cheeses. I took notes, and when I returned to Dallas, I began experimenting and creating my own recipes. I definitely put my own spin on the new cheeses I created by adding various chiles and herbs. And [I smoke] my cheeses over pecan shells, because the pecan is the state tree of Texas.
WE BUY COW’S MILK AND GOAT’S MILK… and it’s all locally sourced from small family farms. Then we make it into different kinds of cheese. One thing you can think about is that cheese is concentrated milk. A gallon of milk weighs 8.6 pounds, and out of that 8.6 pounds, you get one pound of cheese.
IT TAKES ABOUT SIX HOURS… to make the mozzarella, and other cheeses are put into molds so they have a shape after they’re drained. Then they are aged.
IT TAKES GREAT ATTENTION… to detail. The milk is a little different every day; you might have to adjust the cultures or the rennet. You [have to] smell and touch and know the curds, if they are maturing and it’s making a consistent product. That’s the most important thing.
I’VE HAD A LOT OF FUN… creating these cheeses. Now we make Mexican cheeses, and I’ve been influenced by French cheeses. I just take influences that I’ve had in eating different things in different parts of the world and incorporate them into my cheeses.
I LOVE EATING… the cheese. I think our products are delicious, and I just love them. I also like to cook. I’ve written two cookbooks, and they’re all [about] cooking with cheese.
MY FAVORITE CHEESE… is fresh mozzarella, and the one after that is fresh goat cheese. I just love these delicate, subtle flavors. You can taste the milk in these cheeses, and they’re not too strong. I think they’re just perfect.
CUSTOMERS LOVE… our cheeses, and they can buy them at all these wonderful stores — Central Market, Whole Foods, Tom Thumb.
WE ALSO HAVE… cheese-making classes down at the cheese factory. People love to come to that. We teach them how to make mozzarella, and they take the cheese home with them.
FORTY YEARS FEELS… incredible. To think that I started with this idea and this love of this cheese that I had had in Italy and… more than half my life has now been consumed by this cheese. I’ve had so much fun and met so many wonderful people and become friends with all these people I would’ve never had the chance to know.