“100 batches in, it still feels like magic.”
Meet Homa Dashtaki, the founder and owner of The White Moustache yogurt company based in Brooklyn, NY. It’s nice when artisans are still in awe of their product, still bright eyed and in wonder about the magic of their process. It’s a feeling I seldom run into. Most artisans are so deep into the repetition of production that the feeling of excitement has left them. Taking its place: focus, duty, responsibility, deadlines, and other demands of the entrepreneurial world. But not Homa. Not yet, anyway. For her, everyday is like delivering a new child into the world. The beauty of life…of raising happy cultures in milk to form ultra-creamy yogurt.
What sets The White Moustache apart is “coddling.” Homa admits to the TLC method of yogurt care – a lot of attention to the details. It’s how her dad (yup, the dad with the white moustache) taught her to make the beautiful Persian style yogurts she grew up with. These yogurts are elegant, and incredibly soft and rich on the palate, many spoonfuls above the quality of supermarket brands. Add her specialty Middle Eastern flavors to the mix, and entirely new experiences in yogurt arise! Dates, Orange blossom honey & walnuts, sweet beets, and sour cherry whisk you off to the distant countries from which they were inspired – for every batch comes from a family memory. Ideas inspired by dishes or flavors from Homa’s home country of Iran. Enjoy her story.
This is the third installment of our exciting video collaboration with Food & Wine Magazine on The Best American Artisans. Look out for Homa’s yogurt at select specialty stores in New York City and online at GoodEggsNYC.
Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy eating!