COUNTRY FOCUS: FRANCE

No nation on earth has the reputation for cheese that France does, but it is still susceptible to the challenges of the modern world. PATRICK McGUIGAN crosses the Channel to discover a country that is seeing plenty of change in both production and retail while still trying to keep its old traditions alive.

FRANCE’S CHEESE NUMBERS make for impressive reading. The country is home to almost 1,500 di erent varieties, 54 of which are protected under EU law. These PDO and PGI jewels in the dairy crown are made by more than 1,200 farmhouse producers and 300 dairies. It would seem that France’s position as the spiritual home of cheese is secure.

But the stats don’t tell the whole story. The rise of supermarkets, industrial food production and burdensome hygiene regulations have had a profound impact. Where farmhouse producers and cheesemongers used to be the norm, multinational dairies now dominate, with supermarkets accounting for around 90% of cheese retail sales.

According to campaign group Fromages de Terroirs, over 50 traditional French cheeses have disappeared in the past 30 years, while raw milk cheeses account for just 7% of consumption.

David Bazergue, director general of cheese retail organisation Fédération des Fromagers de France, estimates there were more than 10,000 cheese shops in France 50 years ago, but at the start of the 21st Century that number had slumped to 2,400.

While the situation sounds critical, the ght to save traditional French cheese culture is well underway.

“20 years ago cheesemongers said it was the end because of the supermarkets,” says Bazergue. “But this has actually led to the development of new specialised cheese

shops, which are very professional with specialised products and knowledge.”

Key to this evolution has been the development of quali cations, especially the Certi cat de Quali cation Professionnelle (CQP) – a year-long cheesemonger course mixing classroom work and hands-on experience. In 2015, cheesemongers were also legally recognised as cra speople – an important and prestigious title, which lead to the creation of a two-year Certi cat d’Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) cheese diploma in colleges.

Around 380 people take the CQP course each year, which has helped drive up the number of cheese shops to around 3,600, says Bazergue. The pandemic has further boosted interest, with people abandoning corporate careers to pursue a life in cheese.

A career in cheese is especially tempting thanks to a boom in sales last year, as shoppers re-discovered their local cheesemongers during lockdown when restaurants closed and supermarkets were hard to access. Arnaud Sperat-Czar, founder and editor of cheese magazine Profession Fromager, says concerns about health and the environment have also played a part.

“Consumers became more aware and more wary of highly processed foods during the pandemic,” he says. “People want transparency, down to the name of the cow, and local cheese shops are ambassadors of these products. People discovered a need for human contact and nourishing food. When we open the door of a cheese shop, we enter into an immersive experience.”

While cheese shop numbers are on the up, the picture for small cheesemakers is less clear-cut. “There’s a lot of consolidation,” says Sperat-Czar. “Overall, we are losing farms, cheesemakers and creameries. There are a lot of ageing farmers that are selling their farms and retiring. It’s di cult to attract young people. People don’t want to get up at 5am and work from sun up to sun down with no vacation time.”

Raw milk cheesemakers are also under pressure because of increased testing and hygiene requirements, according to cheese educator Sue Sturman, a Paris-based American who translates Profession Fromager.

“This isn’t the land of raw milk cheese in the way it once was,” she says. “There’s a lot of legislative pressure on cheesemakers who use raw milk. And there are other challenges for farmstead producers, such as complicated inheritance laws if they want to pass the farm onto the next generation, droughts caused by climate change and animal feed cost increases. Farms are getting bigger and animals are being milked more intensively.”

There are some positive signs for the future, however, with the COVID crisis once again a blessing in disguise. Increased demand for local foods during lockdown means farmhouse cheesemakers can now make a living from supplying local shops and

Profession Fromager

selling direct at markets – a development that is encouraging new producers to set up.

In Brittany, a new generation of cheesemakers has sprung up, many of whom are rooted in organic farming and raw milk, while in Normandy three new raw milk Camembert producers are breathing new life into the PDO. There has also been a wave of urban creameries popping up in French cities.

Other good news for French cheesemakers includes the creation of the Foundation for Cheese Biodiversity – a cross-industry body, founded by SperatCzar, aimed at promoting and defending raw milk cheese.

There are also moves among some PDO cheeses to tighten rules to help small producers. The terms of the PDO covering Chabichou du Poitou were changed in 2020

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

A French cheese shop with an international outlook, COW stocks around 60 cheeses from artisan cheesemakers in 15 countries, including the UK, the US and Japan.

Opened in 2019 by Emmanuel Carbonne, who has previously worked for Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, this cheese shop in the 18th arrondissement specialises in raw milk cheeses, especially from Brittany.

Paris Urban dairies are a big trend in France, but Pierre Coulon’s tiny atelier and shop was one of the first. Cheeses made on-site include lactic chevres, flavoured with yuzu jam or herbs, and bries sandwiched with truffle or pistachio. The counter also stocks raw milk cheeses from farmhouse producers.

Cécile Broquere and Nina Alaimo gave up respective careers in hospitality and human resources to open this cheese shop in the centre of Montpellier, which stocks 150 farmhouse cheeses.

Specialising in raw milk and farmhouse cheeses, Fromagerie Kalou was opened by Carine Kaloudjian in 2015 after previously working in the agro-food sector.

so that only raw goats’ milk could be used, while a group of small cheesemakers in Provence has secured a PDO for raw milk Brousse du Rove goats’ cheese.

While some PDOs are changing, others are still dominated by large cheesemakers, according to Véronique Richez-Lerouge, head of Fromages de Terroirs. She was a vocal critic of attempts by big dairy companies to change the PDO for Camembert de Normandie to allow pasteurised milk, which ultimately failed in 2020 a er a narrow vote against the proposals.

She argues that some PDOs have been so damaged by the in uence of big dairy that their value has been diminished. “New cheesemakers see there are other ways to sell cheese rather than PDO. It is not on a pedestal anymore.”

At dairy group Savencia, which owns brands such as Saint Agur and Le Rustique, as well as PDO cheeses Berthaut Epoisses and Papillon Roquefort, cheese education and product development group manager Noemie Richard argues that PDOs remain a reference point for French consumers.

A good example of this, she says, is the rise of selection packs in French supermarkets, which focus on regional cheeses. Savencia’s Haute Fromagerie selection, for instance, includes PDO cheeses Maroilles, St Nectaire and Bleu d’Auvergne.

Rather than undermining artisan cheesemakers, Richard says that large manufacturers play an important role in supporting the market. “Competition is what helps to build the category. It makes all of us stronger and means we can build better relationships with farmers.

Back at the Fédération des Fromagers, David Bazergue is also looking to the future.

With special thanks to Sue Sturman for her assistance with translation.

Thirty-year-old cheesemaker Caroline Joguet has a herd of 90 goats and 30 cows, which roam the mountains of Arêches. The cow’s milk is sold to make Beaufort, but she turns the goat’s milk into cheeses, including Plancherin d’Arêches – a raw Vacherin-style cheese developed with affineur Hervé Mons.

An urban dairy in the heart of Toulouse, set up by cheesemaker Anthony Lefebure in 2019. Raw sheep, goat and buffalo milk from local farms, is turned into products including goat’s cheese ‘shots’ and buffalo ‘sucettes’ (lollipops) – fresh cheeses on sticks.

Stéphanie and Xavier Cassigneul started making Camembert de Normandie PDO this year at the Clos de Beaumoncel dairy in Camembert. Le Trefle D’Auge Camembert is made with raw milk from the couple’s nearby farm. Other new Camembert de Normandie producers include retailer Pierre Coulon (see above), who has bought a previously closed dairy, and Stanislas Rault and Dalida Berritane, who run an organic farm in Instière.

One of several new farmhouse cheesemakers in Brittany, Kroaz-Min is owned by Ana-Gaëlle Le Damany and Paul Françoise. The young couple has a flock of 90 Lacaune sheep and are committed to organic, sustainable farming, making bries and fresh cheeses.

Farmer and cheesemaker Charlotte Salat used to make Salers, but decided to leave the PDO in 2018 after her cheeses were controversially downgraded by the PDO’s committee in quality taste tests. The 100% Salers milk cheeses are now marketed under the Salat Tradition brand and are sold in some of France’s best cheese shops and restaurants.