Letter From Paris

By Harriet Welty-Rochefort

When third generation fromager François Priet isn't behind the counter of one of the three cheese shops he owns in the east of Paris, he's likely to be on a nearby golf course, fishing salmon or pike in Ireland, or stalking boar or deer in Poland.

« I like to be outdoors and walk, » he says simply.

For a man who likes chasing boar and golf balls, the grey-haired, blue-eyed 42-year-old cheese seller couldn't have a better job.

He makes his living hunting - the best cheeses he can find - and it keeps him on the run.

On a typical day, by 5 a.m. he's already at the giant food market in Rungis making the rounds, talking with cheese suppliers, selecting and placing orders for the cheese he'll put in his shops. By 10 a.m. he's back in the first fromagerie he opened in 1991 in the working class but slowly gentrifying 20th arrondissement of Paris. Sandwiched between a butcher shop and an Italian delicatessen, the boutique is fairly small but stacked with a dizzying array of carefully arranged cheeses, artisanal for the most part.

Cheese shop owner François Priet in one of his three Paris stores, a hunk of delicious Comté in hand. Photo: Mehdi, 2008

The first thing he does before attacking the rest of the day is fortify himself with a strong cup of coffee and a piece of cheese (what else ?). Camembert or Brie, he specifies.

Bear in mind that when François Priet says « Camembert » or « Brie », he's talking about a raw milk cheese redolent with the smell of the pastures the cows grazed in. It will be a Camembert or Brie he has lovingly chosen for his customers. In no way will it resemble the standardized Camembert or Brie in the nearby supermarket. « Supermarkets », says Priet, « don't have the same cheese or the same clientèle. »

After the Brie break, Priet removes his work outfit, a dark blue knee-length coat with François Priet, Votre Fromager stiched in light blue on the left hand pocket, and goes to check out his other two stores. Having started the day so early, after lunch he tries to slip in a well-deserved siesta before re-opening the shop at 4 pm until 8 pm. When the last customer has left, he's still not finished. Only after he's attacked the inevitable paperwork does he leave the premises around 9 pm. No 35 hour work week for him.

« I work 35 hours a week, » he jokes, « in two and a half days. »

Working hard is nothing unusual for this Normand who represents the third generation of a cheese family. Priet's grandmother had her own cheese shop in Normandy in the Fifties at a time there were no supermarkets Ð and not as many cheeses. « In those days, » says Priet, « there were perhaps fifteen to twenty cheeses which were produced locally. »

His father carried on the family tradition with 17 shops divided between Normandy, Paris, and various markets. By the time Priet decided to set up his own business, the world of cheese had changed. « Cheese people know much more about their profession now and there are many more new cheeses all the time. »

Priet took advantage of this new tendency to change the stock in the shop he'd purchased from a fromager who offered a standard choice of industrial cheeses and mostly very young goat cheeses. He brought in tasty raw milk cheeses, new cheeses with shapes and odors his clients hadn't seen Ð or smelled - before. Part of the pleasure of his job, he says, is explaining where the various cheeses come from, how they are aged, and how old they are. He takes pride in noting that his clients, many of whom he knew when they were tots, are « amateurs avertis » (informed amateurs). Many know exactly what they want Ð a Camembert not too ripe or on the contrary very ripe, a Comté that is young and fruity, or, on the contrary, an aged Comté with a sharper taste.

Whether customers are in the mood for a St. Maure, St. Marcellin, Echourgnac, Chabichou, Comté, Camembert, Mont d'Or, Petit Fiancé, Abbaye de Citeaux, Fourgerus, Soumaintrain, Langres, Roquefort or Fourme, they'll find them in the store (depending on the season, of course), along with the discovery du jour, artisanal cheeses from small producers such as « L'Estaing de brebis », which sit proudly with their more traditional brethren.

« The world of cheese isn't static. It's always changing. So my shop should always be changing as well. I'm always interested in finding new cheeses as long as they are artisanal and made with raw milk», Priet tells me, remarking that on any given day there are up to 200 different varieties of cheeses in the shop. The day of our conversation, he made a quick count, scanning the shelves with the eye of a master. « Today we've got about 150 different cheeses, » he concluded, « of which 120 are raw milk. »

His preference for raw milk cheeses is not surprising, for, he explains, they are the cheeses that are living entitites and hence have the most authentic tastes. « A pasteurized cheese will always be the same, whereas a raw milk cheese can attain excellence one day and might be not as perfect the next Ð but when a raw milk cheese is at its heightÉ » He raises his eyes to the sky with the expression of a true gourmet and connaisseur.

What is Priet's favorite cheese ? He smiles and shakes his head : « That's a horrible question. » And then, replies, as would any self-respecting fromager who knows his stuff : « It depends on the season. Comté and Beaufort in the winter, goat and sheep cheeses in the spring, goat again in summer, a good Mozzarella. » But for Priet, the best cheeses come in autumn when they take on their full flavor and are, in his words, « formidables ».

And will there be a fourth generation Priet cheese shop ? Priet says he has no idea, that his four children, who range in age from 19 years old to 19 months old, will choose for themselves.

One thing is sure for Priet, selling cheese is more than a job, it's a mission. « I feel that I'm here to maintain our French cheese history, that my job is to keep this national heritage. »

Which means that whether you buy a big hunk of Beaufort or a small slice of Roquefort in his shop, you're not only pleasing your palate. You're putting a piece of French history on your plate.

Harriet Welty Rochefort is the author of French Toast: An American in Paris Ce leb rates the Maddening Mysteries of the French and French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris. French Toast was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "wise and devastatingly funny". For world-famous chef Alain Ducasse, her second book French Fried "in a lively and hilarious style ... gives an inside look at the world of French cuisine and wine." Both books are published by St. Martin's Press. She is currently working on her third book about the French.

Coming to Paris? Harriet gives tailormade wine and cheese tastings to individuals as well as to university groups. For more information, visit her webpages: www.frenchfolio.com and www.understandfrance.com .

If you've had some funny, startling, satisfying, or dismaying food experiences in France you'd like to share, you may contact Harriet directly at harriet.welty@hwelty.com.

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