06/03/2026
I may be back in Michigan but I'm still thinking about these fine French Fromageries! What I particularly love about them was that the store itself is chilled to a low temperature, allowing the cheeses to be on full display, like a cornucopia of delights, arranged perfectly - and just slightly out of reach!
Located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, Barthélemy is a cheese lover's dream and rumored to the oldest cheese shop in Paris. Now owned by this small but perfectly formed, exquisitely beautiful shop is famous for being a favorite spot for locals, chefs, and even a French president!
I purchased a 36m aged Comté (raw cow's milk Alpine from the Jura mountains), Rocamadour (raw goat cheese from the Lot region) and Maroilles (raw cow's milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in Northern France).
Back in the Loire Valley in Saumur I visited , and again marveled at the beauty of the stacked cheese displayed before me!
I selected the very vibrant Boulette d'Avesnes (a pungent, cone-shaped cheese from the Nord department of France, this vibrant, paprika-rubbed cheese is kneaded by hand with herbs and spices), Galet de la Loire (a triple-crème cow's milk cheese from the Anjou region of the Loire Valley) and a tremendously exciting Tourteau Fromagé du Poitou-Charentes (a goat cheese soufflé cake, with a scorched blackened crust).
The hospitality of my fellow cheesemongers, the aromatic beauty of the stores and the taste of these cheeses will stay with me for a long time. What a lucky Cheese Lady!