Cheese Jay: American Madcap Becomes a Russian Cheese Maker

🧀🇺🇸🇷🇺 ’I’m an idiot who wants to open up Russia’: those were the words of Jay Close, when he was making his decision to move to Russia in the Wild 90s. Ultimately, he made the move and got a job as the Chief Cook in a restaurant. Now, he’s farmer and a cheese maker, residing near the city of Moscow 🐄🐑🐕 🗨 ’He’s wild, that’s why he loved it’ - the son Zakhar characterizes his father. 🗽 Jay Close was born in New York, grew up in Mexico, then moved to California 🌎 Living a life of a nomad, biker, road racer 🏍 and sometimes a gangster, he moved from city to city - just to see the world and find his own place. In 1993, he decided to visit Russia in an attempt to seek answers to his lingering questions about the country. Questions like; ’what are the taboos?’, ‘what do Russians eat?’, and finally, ‘what was Communism all about?’. Jay has heard so much about the country and was very eager to satisfy his curiosity. 🪆That’s how his life in the Post-Soviet epoch started: A chef of a restaurant on the Red Square, a TV star, a cheese making enthusiast, a farmer and a father of two. That’s only half of Jay’s bio, the Russian-American-Australian as he calls himself now. Watch now, feel free to comment 👇 and Subscribe 🔔 to Russian Code for more exciting stories! 00:00 - Meet Jay Close, Russian-American-Australian 01:45 - Jay’s bio 01:58 - Why Russia? 🇷🇺 03:34 - From Russian television 📺 to the Red Square 04:05 - Jay’s farm & cheese making 🧀 05:08 - From a dishwasher to a Chief cook 05:50 - 90s Russia: shootings, robberies, mafia, FSB 06:33 - America: stabbed 9 times, shot once 🇺🇸 07:12 - Jay’s son, Zakhar: ‘Russia’s safe’ 07:47 - ’I see her two times a year’: Marta, Jay’s daughter 08:23 - Why I love Russia 08:40 - Youth, freedom & motorcycles 🏍️ 09:34 - What do Russians say about Ameriсans? 10:04 - Jay’s selection of cheeses 10:32 - Starting my life in Russia: land, house, cows 🐄 11:12 - Building a restaurant 12:40 - About the U.S.: ’There’s no future’ 13:37 - Nostalgia & dreams