Say ‘Fromaaage’!

A French cheese pilgrimage for Brits in lockdown

Seven spots for French cheese lovers in the UK (and most of them deliver to your door!)

La Fromagerie – London – website
Gordon’s wine bar – London – website
Cheezelo – London – website
The Cheese Bar Camden – London – website
Raclette Brothers – Everywhere – website
IJ Mellis – Edinburgh – website
George Mewes – Glasgow – website

‘Brie’ prepared for your next adventure across the Channel!

*Post-lockdown

The factory of the Curé Nantais in Pays de la Loire – website

A soft, golden cheese made from raw cow’s milk, Curé Nantais originated in 1880 in the little Loire village of Saint-Julien-de-Concelles. On the advice of a priest (curé), local farmer Pierre Hivert invented a cheese called Le Régal des Gourmets, and a few years later, it was renamed ‘Le Curé Nantais’ in tribute to this holy man. In 1980, production was taken over by Georges Parola and the factory was set up in Pornic, on the west coast. The cheese stands out in a region better known for its butter production – which often contains the ubiquitous fleur de sel – and several varieties are produced, including one using the local dry white wine, Muscadet. In fact, this is the best accompaniment to any Curé Nantais. Visit the factory for a tour of the production areas and cellars, and finish with a tasting in the boutique shop.

The first Livarot farm in Normandy – website

Named after the Normandy village from which it originated, Livarot cheese was produced for the first time by a farmer called Eugène Graindorge in 1910. The story goes that he started to develop his business by collecting milk and cheese from his neighbours and maturing them in the village of Livarot. Later, his son Bernard helped expand the family cheese dairy between 1940 and 1980, to the point where Livarot cheese started to appear on the menu in Parisian restaurants. Nowadays, Eugène’s grandson Thierry runs the E. Graindorge cheese dairy, which is open to the public for tours and tastings, and still makes the delicious cheese that has been granted Appellation d’Origine Controlée (AOC) status.

B&B Ferme de Fleurette in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté – website

In the Jura Massif, there are roughly 150 of these small village dairies, supplied by 2,700 farms across this beautiful, unspoilt region in the east of France. Hosts Céline and Mickael welcome their guests in summer and winter to their comfortable B&B Ferme de Fleurette located at the heart of the typical mountain village of Haut-Doubs. The gite is a stone’s throw from their farm, allowing guests to discover how a real farm produce Comté cheese. And just five miles from the new, all-wooden B&B, is Le Fort de Saint Antoine, where many of the cheeses will be sent to mature for anything up to 20 months. It is an actual fortress, part of a 19th century border chain instantly rendered obsolete by new powerful weaponry and converted to its present role in 1966. Today, offering perfect conditions, it is home to a staggering 100,000 30kg cheese wheels.

You have simply goat to visit La Ferme des Chapotons! – website

Wine and cheese tasting in the Chapoton farm, at the heart of the Val de Loire vineyard

Located at a quarter of an hour’s drive from Sancerre, the Chapotons Farm is part of these stopovers that are recommended for your eyes closed. We are very well received and between the cheese shop, the visit of the winery and the tasting of Sancerre wines produced in the field, the address is only fun, generosity and greedy. For over 25 years, the good goat milk of the farm has made it possible to manufacture the legendary crottin of Chavignol on site. What is more natural for Franck and Sylvain, the two brothers at the head of the farm, than to embark on the production of Sancerre to accompany their treasure of Chavignol wonderfully! Furthermore, the tasting room is very friendly and the farm has a camping area.