A promotional feature on behalf of Le Gruyére AOC
Peak performers Le Gruyère AOC is a must-stock on any serious deli counter. So how do top food shops go about selling the famous Swiss mountain cheese? We asked four of London’s most illustrious retailers. Harrods It’s not just Harrods’ famous cheese counter that is home to Le Gruyère AOC. The Swiss cheese is also popular in the food hall’s kitchens, where the cave-aged King Cut Kaltbach version is used to add depth of flavour to scones and breads and Rowcliffe’s Le Cret is used in sandwiches and melted on burgers. “There’s so many things you can do with it,” says Harrods’ cheese buyer Bernadette Lalonde. “It’s a very versatile cheese. We get a lot of people who come to our counter and say: ‘I always buy cheddar, what else can I have?’ So we’ll give them Le Gruyère AOC as an alternative. Most
24
people like it when they taste it.” An 18-20 month cave-aged Le Gruyère AOC is part of the core range of cheeses on the counter all year round, but Harrods also runs regular promotions when the food hall will source a range of different aged cheeses from small artisan producers. Most recently it worked with a tiny Alpine producer called Moléson, taking entire wheels of cheese made with summer milk and aged for 12, 18 and 22 months. “The 22-month cheese had a lot more punch than the Kaltbach. It was much fuller and deeper in flavour, although the paste was actually a lot smoother,” says Lalonde. “Personally,
November-December · Vol.10 Issue 13
I tend to go for an older cheese – I like those savoury flavours, rather than sweet.” Harrods staff carried out “vertical tastings”, giving customers the chance to try all the different ages so they could taste the differences for themselves. “They got to see how the younger cheeses are a lot fruitier and the older cheeses are more savoury,” says Lalonde. “It’s important that you are able to talk to the customer and explain the cheeses during a tasting.” Paxton & Whitfield The amazing complexity and array of different flavours that can be
Paxton & Whitfield likes to emphasise the distinct flavour differences between its Reserve and Vieux Alpage varieties