PAYING FROMAGE TO TRADITION

We set out on a culinary journey through France to discover one of the country’s most treasured products – cheese.

- Giorgia Guantario

Nestled between Albertville and the astounding Mont Blanc massif, the valley of Beaufortain in the region of Savoie, France is a mecca for skiers and winter sports aficionados. However, over the summer months, the region favours a different kind of tourism, one founded on one of the country’s most treasured products – cheese. In 2019, France’s revenue in the cheese segment amounted to over US $11m, making it the first in Europe and third globally, whilst the average per capita consumption stands at 17.9 kg in 2019, 15 kg over the global average, as revealed by Statista. There’s no doubt the French love cheese.

It is during a bright and warm day in August, amongst a herd of Tarentaise cows grazing undisturbed in one of Beaufortain’s biggest Alpages, that I find out the secret ingredients that make French cheeses some of the best in the world: tradition and heritage. “Being an Alpagist is not a job, it’s life,” tells us Christian Juglaret, owner of the vast alpine pasture.